


is it a bird? is it a plane? no. it's four kids who wanted nothing to do with this.

by catswithsocks



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Blood, Characters Added As They Appear - Freeform, In the process of being rewritten, Major Character "Death", Occasional editing, Slightly non-canon, Violence, ancestor names are five letters instead of four, like the some powers aren't exactly the same as their godtiers, not a lot of blood but there's couple of injuries, so things well be patchy for awhile, tags added as needed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-03
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2018-08-12 19:37:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 108,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7946578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catswithsocks/pseuds/catswithsocks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose expected this to be a normal summer. Chill with Jade, die in the New York heat, fight with Mom, the usual. Instead, when earth-shattering news is bombshelled on her, she realizes that heroism isn't quite what it's cracked up to be.</p><p>(wow that's really fucking corny.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> edit: this has been rewritten!

A parcel mistress stares out the cab window. It’s dark as hell out here, but it’s only the middle of the day.

The cabbie stops, and pulls the keys out of the ignition. Real creepy things start to happen if he’d go any further than this, he says. He’d rather have his cab mostly unscratched, thanks.

The parcel mistress blinks in surprise. She gestures bewilderedly at the stop just a few feet in front of her, and if he could just start forward a little more-

The cabbie shakes his head. Nope. No way, no how, this cab is not moving an inch closer and that’s final.

The mistress rolls her eyes, but she begrudgingly thanks him in a way that could be construed as an insult if you listened close enough.

The piercing lights of the head beams slowly fade away as the cab begins to pull away, driving as fast as it can without looking rude, but still trying to preserve itself as much as possible, because as previously stated, it’s scary as shit out here.

The parcel mistress sighs, and begins the long ten-foot journey ahead of her. If only she didn’t have such a devotion to her career.

Seconds later, she arrives at her stop, the mansion she’s been assigned to deliver to. Her mail bag thuds heavily, an important package that holds the fate of the world inside.

Of course, darkness shrouds the mansion, because apparently dark and foreboding things happen in this neck of the woods. Her hands unwillingly go slick with sweat, and her knees finally begin to shake. Though the parcel mistress would rather that she had just ignored the obviously superstitious cab driver, she couldn’t help but think that he definitely had a point.

Slowly, she raises a hand to the thick oak doors and knocks.

There’s giggling and a soft “Coming!” can be heard from inside. A creaking that most likely didn’t come from the opening doors could be heard, and a woman stood before the mistress. A glass of wine sparkled brightly in her hand, despite the interior and the exterior of the mansion was dark.

“Can I help you?” she asked, bemused. Perhaps the wine sparkled because of the twinkle in her eye.

The mistress nodded, and pulled out the form for her to sign to receive her package. The normalcy of such an action, and the politely amused manner of the woman put her at ease-

Something dark flashed behind the woman as she signed, and if the parcel mistress had blinked, she would have missed it. Of course, she wished she _had_ taken the time to blink, because whatever the flash was, it was horrifically beastly, certainly something not of this realm.

“All done!”

The parcel mistress snapped back to attention, away from her thoughts. She gave a weak smile, and replaced her pen back into her slot. She went for the package, but her ears picked up on a scraping on what sounded to be….. _glass?_

“Can I have my package?” the woman asks, just slightly peeking into the parcel mistresses bag. She took a small sip of her drink.

The mistress nodded, and hurriedly thrust the package into the womans waiting hands. Sweat had finally started to trickle down her back, and briefly she wished she had brought a companion along.

A rattling can be heard, and definitely something unearthly howls from inside.

The parcel mistress promptly turned around, ignoring the womans calls asking her to step in for a drink (“It’s Pinot Grigio!” she had yelled, probably with a glittery wink), and scampered the fuck away from the mansion.

A safe _eleven_ feet away from the mansion, the parcel mistress called for a cab, now fully understanding why she had such difficulty getting her previous driver to move even a few inches forward.

As she waited, she peeked into her bag, counting what she had left to deliver. She had three more deliveries, specially contracted by Harley Labs, scattered all across the country. If any of them were as remotely as weird as this delivery was…

 

She had the feeling it was going to be a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PM's gonna need that pinot grigio after she deals with the striders
> 
> rose, get out of your dinosaur costume and stop scaring the poor mail lady. she's just doing her job


	2. the broad prepares for flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today we learn that Rose cannot be a stone-cold bitch because she cares too deeply for her best friend. 
> 
> Curse those emotions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> edit: this has been rewritten!

Rose stood outside of a large, extremely _l_ _ime_ green building. The green was must’ve been fairly recent, because last week the whole of the building was plastered with blue, sultry women who stared deep into your eyes. More than one business man who walked past abruptly averted their eyes, and the brave few who kept their chin up more often than not found themselves stuck in place, drawn in by the siren-like images of Cyndi Lauper and Diana Ross.

She was pretty certain that was the feeling the building was trying to go for anyways.

Harley Labs was less of an eyesore now, and she decided immediately she liked the green better than Lauper. However, the lime wasn’t exactly that easy on the eyes either, and stuck out like a red tulip in a field of a million yellow tulips. Besides the green, it was still a pretty damn cool building. It was very modern, but not so modern that you feel like there might be a robot uprising on the inside, or some kind of zombie apocalypse/dystopian society mash-up might come spilling out the doors. It just a regular futuristic building, complete with the odd angles impudently jutting out. Completely and totally representative of the eccentric duo who own and run the business inside: Julie English and Jacob Harley, joint-CEO's and irrelevantly, twins.

Since Rose was freshly released from the throes of hell one would call "private school" and was on break for another three months before she would be dragged back kicking and screaming. Inbetween, she had elected to spend the majority of her summer vacation in this eyesore of a building. Possibly already regretting her decision already, she made her way inside, and was met with a blast of frigidly cool air, a relief from the sweltering heat of the outdoors.

There was only one secretary working the desk. Her helpfully-laminated name tag read Sarah, but the name tag wasn't of much use to Rose, considering she knew most of the secretaries by name ever since she was 4.  Sarah was an interesting person, or at least by interesting, she was more willing to put up with Rose's bullshit than the other secretaries. Really, there wasn't any feasible reason as to why Harley Labs found and stocked the crankiest people alive to greet others.

“Hello Sarah," Rose greeted, casually leaning against the front desk. "It’s nice to see you today.”

Sarah looked up briefly from her computer, smiling widely at Rose. “I'm guessing you're out of school?"

Rose nodded, relieved. "Yes, thank  _goodness_. I was beginning to believe I was going to strangle with the headmaster if he tried to keep me a day longer." She leaned in and whispered "I actually snuck out an hour early. Don't tell anybody."

Sarah snickered. Reaching underneath the desk, she grabbed a book and placed it down on the desk. A horrific monster decorated the top, and intelligible text very unhelpfully gave the name. “Thanks for loaning me this. It was..." she paused, searching for the right word. "... _interesting?"_

Rose smirked. “Well, literature about the eldritch are very interesting. I’m glad you liked it.”

In truth, Rose hated it. It was a beginners book, filled with occasionally wrong trivia and pictures. It wasn't that Rose didn't like pictures, but she didn't like how simplified they were (surely Fluthulu had more teeth than that). She had only offered it to Sarah to test how far she was willing to go, and she was impressed that Sarah had actually read it, considering the other secretaries wouldn’t so much as look at the book.

Sarah returned to her computer, typing something. “So who are you here for, Rose? Your mother, I assume?”

Rose gagged. “ _Hell_ no. I’m here for Jade Harley, you must be perfectly aware of that.” The day Rose would be here for her mother was when she could figure out a way to one-up her. Maybe by bringing her a fruit basket with a truly heart-felt poem inscribed in gold on the name card. _That_ would get her mother's goat. She filed this away for later use.

Sarah smirked. “I know, Rose." She pushed a clipboard toward Rose, along with a pen. "I already see you in the register, so can you sign this please?”  

Rose read the names on the clipboard, just to see if she recognized any of them. Of course, she didn’t this time, but once in awhile, she found a familiar name or two. Guy Fieri came in once, which was a surprise, though she had heard the meeting went poorly. Scribbling down her signature, she slid the clipboard back towards Sarah, who in return slapped down a visitors pass (mostly for show, Rose would discard of it as soon as she got the chance and they both knew it).

"Have a nice break!" Sarah said, waving to an already departing Rose.

Rose waved back. Rounding a corner into the transportalizer room, she stepped on the transportalizing pad. The familiar tingling sensation as her molecules were translocated was welcoming, even if vaguely unnerving.

She touched down in the basement, and made her way down the empty hallway. Normally, people weren't allowed above the first few floors of Harley Labs, and very few people were allowed to _know_ about the basement below. One of Harley Labs most prized possession is in the basement, and Rose was sure that the CEO's would rather blow up the entire upper half of the building (the labs harboring technology ten years beyond their time) then let their possesion receive harm.

 _However_ , Rose had special access to almost everywhere, including the basement. It helped that her mother was Head Scientist of practically everything science, and that she was the best friend of the one half of the heirs and good friends with the second half. 

She was halfway down the corridor when there was an explosion and a cloud of black smoke emerged from an open door from the end of the hallway. She wasn't too particularly worried about whatever happened. Whatever exploded would probably put itself in awhile, and if not then the building would go in bio-hazard lock down. No biggie. 

The smoke had been mostly vacuumed out when Rose reached the end of the hallway, so she wasn't coughing and gagging and generally wishing she was dead. Leaning on the doorframe, she watched the person inside work.

Jade’s laboratory was pretty large, and very homey. It was also quite warmer from the cold, industrial hallway, but that might've been because of explosion. A workstation lined one wall, and holographic screen on the opposite wall, covered in technological babble that Rose couldn't decode if her life depended on it. A small bed was in the corner next to a small window that lit the room up surprisingly well. The transportalizer in the middle of the room tied the whole look together, even if Rose wasn't sure what the look Jade was trying to go for was, or if she was even trying to go for a look. 

The lab was given Jade by her grandfather and great-aunt (or grandmother? the lineage was funky) a long time ago, when Jade was 8 and started to show an interest in science. Of course, if Jade started to show an interest in anything, her grandparents would go the extra nine yards to fufill whatever her wishes were. Rose was glad that Jade's lifelong love was science, because she didn't want the Harley's emptying out the bank for a wishy-washy 8 year old. However, she did understand the sentiment as to why her grandparents positively spoiled her and her brother. Jade's parents were taken away from her too soon, in an incident under mysterious and horrific terms. 

Still busy with cleaning up her grime covered lab, Jade didn’t notice Rose standing in the door until she very clearly and audibly cleared her throat.

Jade jumped, looking for the source of the sound. Spotting Rose, her face broke out into a wide grin, white against her soot covered face. “Heya Rose! I didn’t see you there!”

"Well, obviously not," Rose remarked. “Did you accidentally lose your face powder and decide to use ashes instead? Because it's a pretty metal look if I say so myself.”

Jade chuckled. “Thanks for the compliment, but that's not what happened! I improving a powder gun, and the powder jammed on the inside. Unrelated note, I _may_ have pulled the trigger one too many times while pointing it at my face.”

Rose raised her eyebrow in question. “How many times is one too many times?”

“Once."

Rose snorted, and stepped in the lab to help Jade clean, who began babbling about her other inventions and experiments. Rose stopped paying attention after Jade mentioned something called "tricruxtruder alchemizer". Science was not her strong suit, seemingly obscure literature and the eldritch was. Still, Rose pretended to pay attention, nodding and uh-huh-ing at the right times. It’s important to support your friend, after all.

The lab was about 75% clean when Jade decided she was done. Rose stopped cleaning as well, thought it pained her slightly. While Jade liked things looking used, Rose preferred the image of pristine cleanliness (not like she applied that image to her life, but that doesn't matter right now).

Jade stepped on the transportalizer. "You coming?"

"No, I think I'll just stay here," Rose deadpanned, lying across the bed. "I'm feeling rather tired after school, you know how it is."

Jade rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, I forgot how hard it was to be private-schooled. Really Rose, you should just switch to being homeschooled like I did! Who needs teachers when you have an artificial intelligence teach you to teach you? You both learn at the same time!"

"You couldn't have gotten more of a dweeb than in that exact sentence," Rose remarked, hopping off the bed and joining her on the transportalizer. 

"Oh yeah, because you're _soooooo cool_ , Miss I'm So Smart Look At My Big Fancy Words Like Dictionary," Jade retorted, sticking out her tongue at Rose. 

"Dictionary is _not_  a fancy word and you know it."

* * *

 Jade's room, or rather, her loft, was pretty nice. It encompassed the entirety of the fourth floor in Harley Labs, making it a spacious and open living area. More than half of the outer walls were glass windows (bullet-proof and tinted, Harley Labs takes its security  _very_ seriously). Her bed often moved locations according to where Jade saw fit, and right now it was under one of the windows. A large television was mounted on a wall with armchairs surrounding it. Various different carpets scattered the floors, all brightly colored. Random piles of papers and other miscellaneous junk was piled up in different stacks, all organized according to the Jade Harley™ way. The loft also included a high-tech, state-of-the-art kitchen and a low-tech, regular-of-the-art  bathroom as well, along with another guest room. 

Rose was pleased to see that it was largely clean. She hadn't been over recently to keep things mostly in order (finals were a bitch), and Jade was....well....

Messy.

It didn't help that she had a unusually large and messy samoyed dog as well.

As soon Rose thought about him, Bec came bounding around the corner from some room, leaping right into Jade’s outstretched arms.

“Didn’t come home last night?” Rose asked. Bec usually gave Jade large amounts of love and affection, but the amount of kisses he was giving Jade was downright _obnoxious_.

Jade shook her head Bec’s fluffy fur. “Nope! I was making some serious headway on something important, so I had to stay the night.” She kissed the tip of Bec's nose. "But you don't mind, do you boy?" 

Bec, having decided that they had both exchanged enough love, or that he was getting embarrassed by Jade's babytalk, jumped off of her in favor of curling up on the sofa. Rose headed towards the kitchen, and Jade, brushing off the hair on her pants, turned on the television.

"What are you feeling in the mood for today?" Rose asked, searching through Jade's refrigerator.

"Oh, I dunno," Jade said idly. "Competitive, maybe."

 

Rose stilled, blood freezing in her veins.

 

Hopefully, Jade wasn't talking about what Rose  _thought_ she was talking about. If Jade had done what Rose believed what she had done, there was no turning back. Friendships would be ruined, families torn apart, kingdoms set ablaze, the economy in a state of disrepair. Worse of all, one of them might stop _talking_ to the other for an half an hour or so.

Slowly, Rose closed the refrigerator door. She hadn't turned around to face Jade yet, hoping that she was wrong, wishing that she was so horribly wrong and Jade hadn't gone to that length today. 

But of course, Jade's smile shattered Rose's hopes and dreams.

In her hands, the object of doing such horrible destruction and calamity, held calmly as if it were a nice drink and not the fate of the Entire Fucking World. 

 

The Mario Kart Wheel.

 

"Are you sure you want to go  _there_ today?" Rose asked.

Jade nodded just ever so slightly, a determined look in her eyes "You bet your ass I am."

" _Give me the damn wheel_."

* * *

 After a solid hour of Jade thoroughly beating Rose’s ass at Mario Kart, she proposed a snack break.

“You’re just getting tired Harley," Rose groaned, flopping on her back out of exhaustion. "That’s obviously why you need a break, don't bother lying. I can already see the cracks in your frail facade."

“Yeah, I am tired," Jade replied cheerfully. "I'm tired of kicking your butt!” She stuck out her tongue, and skipped to the kitchen. Rose huffed, and stood up. Maybe one day she’ll beat Jade in the cursed game of Mario Kart 8, but today was _obviously_ not that day.

She made her way into the kitchen, starving. Skipping out of school before lunch wasn't exactly the smartest plan in the world, but could you really blame her? She would've  _strangled_ the headmaster.

Jade had already set out sandwich fixings, so Rose grabbed two plates from the cabinets, and made a beautifully crafted sandwich.

“So, have you talked to your mother lately?” Jade asked, sitting down at the bar across from Rose. For some _strange_  reason, she had a an odd fixation of getting Rose and her mother to reconcile over whatever they were passive-aggressively fighting about (which was everything). Rose dealt with it, because Jade’s intentions were influenced by her own parentless state, whether or not she consciously realized it herself.

“Yes, I talked to her," Rose answered drily. "I took your advice about being direct and straightforward about my problems with her, but it didn’t work. Instead, she gave me 500 dollars to go and buy some ‘nice, new clothes’. Do you know how ludicrous that is?”

Jade nodded solemnly. “Yes, it’s very ridiculous. And what did you do with the money? I know you wouldn’t go out and get something with it, you would consider it tainted or something.”

“It was tainted!" Rose exclaimed. "I wanted _nothing_ to do with it! But, do you know what I did with it instead?”

“What?” Jade asked, around a bite of sandwich.

“I donated it to a charity. A charity for starving children of Africa, to be exact.”

Jade smacked her forehead in frustration, leaving a smear of mayonnaise. “Rose, that’s not what I meant!" she cried. "You were supposed to talk it out, but instead you resorted to passive-aggressiveness! I bet you framed the donation certificate and put it on the refrigerator.”

Rose clutched her chest in shock. “I did no such thing! I left it in her office.”

Jade groaned, and buried her head in her arms irritably.

“Enough about me, what about you?" Rose asked, hoping to change the subject. "Have you seen your grandfather recently? You told me that he's been caught up in something.” 

Jade lifted her head from her arms, nodding. “He’s been caught up in _thousands_ of meetings. So has Grandma, which sucks _ass_.”

“Well what about Jake?” Rose suggested. "He's back home to visit, right?"

“Nope, still out exploring the world," Jade said. "He said in his last letter he couldn't visit any time soon because some foreign dignitary is on his tail and he's in hiding or whatever, but once he's free he'll stop by."

Rose rubbed Jade's arm in sympathy. Jade didn't deserve to be alone all the time. They sat in silence for awhile, Jade pouting, and Rose lost in her own deep, not particularly philosophical thoughts about family.

"But do you wanna know something interesting?" Jade asked suddenly.

Rose raised her eyebrows, interested. “What’s the tea?"

Jade leaned in closer, lowering her voice. “ _The meetings_."

“The meetings,” Rose repeated, slightly lost.

Jade nodded fervently. "The meetings! I don't know what they're about at  _all_! Usually I get briefings about them, but I haven't gotten a single word from Grandpa! I don't know who exactly he's meeting with, but I did notice on the register that a few names appeared a few times in a row the past month. They're kinda weird though, like Flighty Broad and something else. I've also seen a few mysterious people meeting up with my grandparents as well, but it was only a glimpse before they disappeared into some kinda sound-proof conference room."

"Perhaps they're investors?" Rose suggested. "Possibly covert government officials?" 

Jade shrugged. "Who knows! I don't think from the government, because they didn't look too professional. I'd look them up in the files, but I'm banned from the database and the hard copy room. Probably because I was snooping around, but is it really my fault, considering I just wanted to know the truth?"

"Jade, in the history of the world, nothing ever is nor ever will be your fault."

Jade gave Rose a smile. "Thanks." She stood up suddenly and slammed her hands on the table. “Anyways, I have a game I need to continue beating you in!”

"Not on my watch."

They spent most of the evening playing Mario Kart (Rose lost, but with grace). Eventually, after Rose was sick of her losing streak, she suggested they watch a movie. Jade seemed largely unbothered by it, having enough human decency to know when she had thoroughly beaten Rose into the ground. They settled on some sort of strange whale documentary, and late into the night, Jade, probably having been lulled by the whale sounds and the narrators smooth voice, started to fall asleep. Rose decided it was best she head back home.

Rousing Jade out of her odd trance, they said their goodbyes, and Bec gave Rose a few sloppy farewell kisses.

“You should invest in a transportalizer instead of public transportation,” Jade said sleepily.

“Well, not everyone is a multi-billionaire like you, Harley," Rose replied.

Jade laughed. “Yeah, but you are a multi-millionaire. I bet you can swing it.”

“True.”

Rose rode the chauffeured car that was offered to her by the Harley's to her home, since she and her mother both pull late nights at the labs for different reasons. Renee Lalonde didn't join her, which was understandable, considering she was working on some sort of life saving genome or whatever. It wasn't like Rose particularly wanted her mom to ride with her, since she would just fill the car up with perpetually happy chatter.

The chauffeur dropped her off at her front door, and Rose thanked him before stepping inside and locking the door behind her. She barely made it up the stairs into her own room, and she didn’t bother to get out of her clothes before flopping on the bed, and going straight to a dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> who let jacob decorate the building. the man is obviously terrible at interior design.
> 
> edit: this was rewritten! phew, finally!


	3. it's too early for this

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this has been rewritten!

She was awaken by loud and needlessly incessant vacuuming. The sun shone annoyingly in her eyes from her opened window, and “Take On Me” was blaring from every radio in the house.

 

Apparently, her mother made it home last night.

 

“Wake up Rosie!" Renee chirped brightly, adding to Rose's annoyance.

Rose covered her head with a pillow, blocking out the sun, the vacuuming, and her mother's cheerful face. “Please, try to make an effort to wake me like other mothers do," she groaned, muffled. "Maybe in a _civil_ and _cordial_ manner?”

Underneath her breath, she muttered "Or maybe not at all..."

Renee just laughed and took the pillow off of her head. "Rose, that sucks all the fun outta it! And I heard whatever that was, young lady. I would've let you sleep in today, but the big man specifically asked that I bring you in today."

Rose removed the pillow from her head, raising a slow, unamused eyebrow. "And why is that?"

Renee gave her a cryptic smile and a wink before clicking out the room in her impossibly high heels without explanation. Rose sighed in disappointment, and sat up on her bed. Glancing at the clock, she noticed that it wasn't even past 6 yet. First day of summer vacation, and already she's up earlier than she would be for school. Despicable. Rose considered going back to bed now that her mother was out of the room, but instead decided against it.

Instead she got dressed in what she felt her mother would approve. 20 minutes later, and Rose was dressed in an outfit that was decidedly "cutesy", but comfortable. The shirt was pink, her capris were pink, everything was pink. She didn't have anyhing against the color pink, but too damn much was simply too damn much. Her shirt (which, for the record, her mother had gotten her) had sleeves that were slightly ruffled, a truly detestable feature. Rose made a mental note to improve open the sleeves design by ruffling them even more, and maybe buy a similar shirt to gift to her mother, along with a note expressing her daughterly love. Yes, that would get Renee's goat  _very_ nicely.

When Rose stepped out her room, her mother was still in the hallway, vacuuming while holding a mysteriously marked bottle. Rose tried to slide in her room, but her mother heard her and turned around. Her eyes filled with glee when she spotted Rose, and she squealed, hugging Rose tightly.

“Oh _Rosie!"_ she cried, squeezing even tighter in the genuine, heartfelt hug. "You look so adorable! I could just eat you up!”

 

Was there no besting this woman?

 

45 minutes later, when Rose’s mother decided she was appropriately dressed as well, they piled into the mini-van that Renee had rented for the summer so they could go on "summer fun road trips with just the two of us!!!" Absolutely disgusting.

The drive with her mother was fine. Rose could smell the alcohol on her mother (Smirnoff, if she guess correctly), and briefly wondered if Renee should really be driving the state of drunkenness she was in. However, she was pretty sure Renee could operate a machine capable of killing them both if mishandled, so she just settled in and waited out the ride.

Renee started up a conversation, but it was pretty one sided, mostly just her trying to think through her daily tasks, cursing out lab assistants, and congratulate Rose on finishing out the school year. Rose helpfully reminded her mother that she had a meeting at two, and fumed when Renee took a hand off the wheel to ruffle her hair in thanks. When Renee finally pulled up to Harley Labs, she barely had time to stop before Rose dived out the car to sanctuary from her mother's drunken war. Five minutes was simply too much with that woman. 

Jade was sitting on the curb on her phone, supposedly waiting for Rose. Her green shorts, Rose noted, went along nicely with her bright yellow tanktop. However, her hair was thrown up in a messy ponytail and pushed back with a orange headband, so she'd probably spent another night up all night in the lab and didn't feel like brushing her hair out. Rose made a mental note to lovingly chastise her for that at a later date.

Jade looked up when she heard Rose walking over, and brightened when she saw her, but quickly turned to laughter when she saw her outfit.

“What _exactly_ are you wearing?!” she cried between tears.

"I'm glad you're so accepting of my wardrobe choices," Rose deadpanned, glaring. "What if I had suddenly just decided to wear this from now on? No, it's too late to apologize, my confidence has already been shattered."

Jade rolled her eyes. "I highly doubt you'd dress like this for the rest of your life. Honestly, I didn't even know you had that in your closet!"

"Actually, this isn't in my closet," Rose corrected. "Mother bought it for me, so it resides in my drawer for the time being until I can find a suitable enough space on my wall for it."

"You could've just said you didn't like the shirt, and your mom would've taken it back!" Jade cried, temporarily exasperated enough to stop laughing. "Is it a crime to be direct?"

Rose scoffed. "I'm  _always_ direct. Don't you remember the time I gently reminded you to go sleep after you stayed up for a whole week straight?"

"Oh, you mean the time where you started to 'casually' read off statistcs about dying from exhaustion while I was working in the lab, and scared me bad enough that I wouldn't get out of bed for _three_ days?"

"Same difference."

"ROSE!"

"Fine, yes, maybe I'm not the most forthright person on the planet, but can you truly blame me for that?" Rose exclaimed. "I don't live under the most _ideal_ conditions."

Jade rolled her eyes, but she softened. "I'm not saying you don't have a reason to be indirect, but I'm just saying...y'know...work on it?"

Rose gazed at Jade intently, reading her. Finally, she sighed. "Fine. I'll try to work on my candor." She narrowed her eyes, and continued "But if it doesn't work, I'm blaming you."

Jade grinned widely, glad that she had swung Rose her way. "Fine by me!" She changed the subject, saying "Anyways, I've got some  _really_ big news! Like, it's so big, you wouldn't believe it!"

“Spill.”

"Remember yesterday when I told you about all the mysterious activity going on around here?" Jade asked. "Like the meetings and the aliases and stuff?"

Rose nodded. "I remember. You were very up in arms about it."

Jade shrugged, toeing the ground lightly. "I mean, I wanna know everything, y'know? _Anyways_ , today Grandpa told me that he's got one last meeting, and that I'm invited! And you're invited! And everybody's invited!"

Rose gave Jade a look. "Everybody."

"Fine, ok I didn't mean everybody," Jade admitted. "But I did manage to sneak a peek at the roster, and there's two other names on there besides ours. I didn't recognize them, and I don't think you would either."

"Try me," Rose encouraged. "Who knows what I know?"

"Alright then!" Jade said. Closing her eyes, she hummed in thought. "Do you know a........John Strider and Dave Egbert?"

Rose furrowed her eyebrows. "Are you sure about that? Those don't sound right."

Jade nodded, then paused and thought about it, and shrugged instead. "I'm pretty sure? I might've gotten them mixed up, who knows!"

"Well, it doesn't matter," Rose said. "I don't know a Dave Egbert or a John Strider, sorry." 

"No prob!" Jade said cheerfully. "We can both not know them together! Anyways, I wanna get to the meeting before anyone else does. Scope the scene, get a feel, y'know?"

"Of course."

They headed inside. Or, more so, Jade ran inside and Rose walked inside. Much later after Jade, she made it inside. Waving to the secretary at the desk, she turned the corner into the transportalizer room.

Jade stood waiting on the pad, already looking bored. "What took you so long?" she asked innocently, as if she hadn't purposely left Rose in the dust.

Rose rolled her eyes. "I'm not  _running_. It's undignified."

"Everything's undignified with you!"

"Shut up."

* * *

The 34th floor was just a dull accounting floor, filled to the brim with depressive cubicles and disgruntled accountants drinking watery coffee. It was almost like the grey carpeting, walls, and chairs managed to suck out any bit of fun that might come up here. The most intriguing thing was the possibility of drama, of which Rose may have accidentally on purpose stirred up more than once, but that wasn't _fun._

Jade grabbed the nearest office chair near her, plopping herself down. “I bet I can wheel myself faster to the conference room than you can," she declared, a taunting smile on her lips.

"Puh- _lease_ ," Rose said, stealing a chair from an unattended cubicle. Whoever it belonged to didn't seem to be using it anyways

“Down there is the meeting," Jade said, pointing down the hallway. "Whoever gets there first wins. We go on the count of three.”

While Rose had a feeling the deep down, she wasn't going to win, it wasn't like she would just _hand_ the victory to Jade.  She had an obligation to fulfill, as grim as the outcome might be. It was a scenario not unlike when you give your most beloved cow to a starving family, hoping that they'll keep the cow around for a long time and you'll see her to the day you die, but in reality you know that the cow will most likely be slaughtered very soon and be deliciously seasoned and served to the famished family instead. But, you gift the cow anyways, because what are you going to do? Just let them die?

This is why Rose had to race. Because she must, and not because some inner competitive streak compelled her to or anything.

“1..."

Rose licked her lips, mentally and emotionally preparing herself for invariable defeat.

"2..."

Breathing in deeply, she steeled herself, readying her body.

"3!"

Jade shot off like a rocket, whooping and hollering. They both nearly ran into sleep-deprived employees, Rose nearly fell out of her chair twice, and Jade definitely accidentally knocked over a mail cart. 

Despite almost hitting twice as many employees and knocking over a mail cart, Jade won. "Almost Rose!" Jade congratulated. "It was really close this time!"

Rose scowled. "I don't need your _pity."_

Jade shrugged, and opened the door. Motioning for her to go in, she said "I guess it's loser's first then!"

Rose flipped her off and glanced into the room instead A large, shiny oak conference table took up most of the space in the room, surrounded with luxury leather office chairs. Round holocron discs were built into the table, one of the newer models. Papers were scattered on the table, most of them crumpled, a few of them extraordinarily shitty planes. On the furthermost wall, two large windows let in a lot of the early morning light. One end of the table had a holographic keyboard with an array of buttons next to it, but it was protected by a glass case. All in all, 9/10 conference room.

Grumbling, she walked into the conference room, ignoring Jade's snickering.

 

And face-first into a paper airplane.

 

“Aw man, are you okay? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

Rose, having gotten over her initial shock of being hit with a plane, shook her head. “No, I’m perfectly fine.” She bent down and picked the plane up, handing it over the the boy who threw it. 

She flung a dramatic hand to her forehead, and continued in an exceedingly melodramatic voice “You did, however, deal a _fatal_ blow to my ego. I don’t think I’ll ever recover.” Jade giggled at Rose’s pseudo-dramatic display, and the boy cracked a smile.

“I’m John.” The boy stuck out his hand eagerly. Rose took it, and shook. He was Chinese, and slightly taller than her. Behind his frames, his eyes were a blue so intense they almost _glowed_ (and also reminded Rose of the sultry women covering Harley Labs a few days earlier, much to her dismay). His dark hair was unruly, like it was constantly windswept and he had given up trying to do something about it. He was casual, a blue Superman shirt and khaki shorts, which Rose respected. 

“Rose.”

Jade walked in. Spotting John, she snapped her fingers in disappointment. "Damn, we're not first!" Peering at John over her glasses, she asked "How'd you get here so quick?"

"My dad sorta, kinda....kicked me out?"

Jade raised her eyebrows questioningly. "What do you mean?"

John shrugged helplessly. "I guess my dad didn't want me hanging around the hotel and getting up to trouble?"

"Trouble, you say?" Rose questioned, stroking her chin. "What  _kind_ of trouble?"

A mischievous glint entered John's eye when Rose asked. Running a hand through his hair, he said proudly "Well, I just happen to be a _prankster extraordinaire_."

_"Nice."_

John offered a hand to Jade, who took it cautiously. After all, she did just learn that he was a prankster, and she didn't want to risk getting her hand buzzed. Rose didn't even know she was putting her life in danger by taking his hand.

However, there wasn't a buzzer, just a regular handshake, and Jade gave a relieved smile. “I’m Jade! You're John Strider, right?"

Pulling out the handshake, John gave her a confused look. "Uh...I don't think so?"

Jade cocked her head in confusion. "Really?"

"I mean, unless my name got switched around with somebody else," John answered. "John's a pretty common name. I'm actually an Egbert."

"Aw man!" Jade cried. "So I _did_ switch them up! Rose, he's not Strider, Dave is!" She gave him a sheepish smile, saying "Sorry, I didn't mean to confuse you with that Dave guy."

John waved it off. "Psh, it's no big deal. I've never actually been confused with Dave before, so it's a new experience."

Rose raised an eyebrow, interested. "You know him?"

John nodded. "He's one of my friends," he answered. "He's pretty cool if you ask me."

"Oh really?" Jade said. She pulled Rose into a surprise hug (very easily lifting Rose off the ground, slightly unnerving) and said "Well, I think this person here is pretty cool too!" She squeezed her tightly before gently setting her down on the ground.

"You don't have to announce that to everybody you meet," Rose grumbled halfheartedly. She appreciated that Jade seemed to fill their friendship with a lot of love and positive affirmation, but couldn't she keep that between the two of them? It was  _embarrassing_.

“So John, any idea why you're here?" Rose asked, taking a seat. Nearby, Jade sat on the table, swinging her feet.

John shrugged, sitting on the other side of the table. "Dunno! I thought it was weird my dad suddenly got a summons last month from a Harley Labs, considering he's not a scientist. I actually thought he'd be here right now, not me."

"Ditto," Rose said. "I thought I'd spend most of my day with Jade, not in one of these meetings."

John nodded in agreement. "Do you think the big man is gonna come down?"

"The big man?"

"Y'know, Jacob Harley?"

Jade nodded. "Yep! He told me."

John fist-pumped in the air. _"Nice!_ I've always wanted to meet a famous person, so that's one off the bucket list!"

"So, you have any ideas?" John asked Jade. "Any leads?"

"No clue!" Jade shook her head. "I mean, I knew my grandpa wanted us up here, but that's about it! Maybe he wants to start a junior innovative science division? It'd explain why he's been having all those top-secret meetings. Maybe he wanted to surprise me!"

"Well, _that_ doesn't make any sense," John said. "I mean, I like science and all, and I get that you must _love_ science because you think you're grandpa would surprise you with that, don't get me wrong. But really, all I do is read a couple Popular Science magazines a month, not invent cool machines or anything like that."

"I got a C in science," Rose added. "That makes even less sense if he wanted to open an junior division. It's possible he wants a think tank instead?"

Jade scoffed. "The day Grandpa invests in a think tank is the day he'll shoot himself and whoever suggested that idea, in that order. Trust me, it's not a think tank."

"I think you're both wrong," John said. "For all we know, Jade's grandpa-wait, who exactly is your grandpa again?"

"Jacob."

"Jacob who?"

"Harley?"

John blinked a bit in disbelief. Rose guessed that he wasn't fully aware of who he was speaking to before, and the fact that he was just casually conversing with the granddaughter of the most famous duo in the science scene must've been a shocking one. 

He took it mostly in stride though. Good for him.

"Okay, so for all we know, Jade's grandpa could be trying to open some kinda testing thing," John continued. "Like, kids are more resilient than adults, right?"

"He's already got lab junkies who test things," Jade pointed out. "Plus, he wouldn't want to do the _immense_ amount of paperwork involved with that."

John shrugged. "Just an idea!"

Jade opened her mouth to try and come up with a new idea, but the door was suddenly kicked open, a loud and dramatic happening that is shushed all other conversation.

"What's up," the kicker said, casually walking in as if nothing had happened.

He was pretty tall, maybe enough to rival Jade. He wasn't dark, but he wasn't light skinned either. His curly blond hair was mussed, but like a careful kind of mussed up that you spend an hour perfecting. He wore a black and red baseball tee, black jeans, and bright red shoes that hurt your eyes if you looked at them too long.

But, the most interesting thing about him was the pair of aviators rested on his face. After all, it was only 6 in the morning, the sun was barely even up. It could've been a medical condition, though by the guy's slightly douchey swagger, Rose highly doubted it.

Finally, someone broke the silence.

"DAVE!" John yelled, running a hand through his hair in exasperation. Gesturing to the door the other hand, he said "WHAT THE FUCK! _"_

"Hey to you too," the guy who was Apparently Dave said drily. He dropped in a chair near John, who immediately pushed him away.

"I'm not dealing with your bullshit today," John explained, getting up out of his chair, still pushing. "I'm already tired of whatever it is you're thinking about, okay?"

"Dude, that's _cold_ ," Supposedly Dave said. "Is this any way to treat a friend?"

John nodded fervently. "If friend is an  _ass_ , then yeah." He pushed Assumedly Dave into a corner, and stormed to his own chair. 

Jade glanced at Probably Dave. "He's Dave Strider?"

"The one and only," Now Definitely Dave called from the corner. 

Jade waved to him cheerfully. "Hi Dave! I'm Jade, and this," she pulled Rose into a sidehug, "is Rose!"

"Is there any concise explanation as to  _why_ you decided that door needed an asskicking?" Rose asked, still in Jade's arms.

"It's a metaphor for how I'm gonna go through life," Dave explained. "Life tries to close a door, and here I am kicking that motherfucker wide open. Life barely got to opening the window in the kitchen before I'm inside."

"That doesn't make any _sense_ ," John objected.

"Life doesn't make sense, dude," Dave replied. "Why do you think I'm busting down the door?"

John said something to him, but Rose tuned him out. The name "Strider" rang a bell in her head, but the bell wasn't labeled so the nameless and frankly, useless noise in her head was annoying. 

Strider. Striiiiiiiiider. S t r i d e r.

The name rung inside her head, not unlike the bell that it was currently ringing ceaselessly. She had it was on the tip of her tongue, her finger on the button, mind on the money, running to the homestretch, eyes on the prize...

 

It clicked.

 

She stood suddenly, slamming a hand on the table, effectively interrupting the conversation. Pointing an accusatory finger at Dave, she yelled “ _SMUPPETS!”_

“Gesundheit.” Dave wasn't shaken, and she would've appreciated his stoicism at a different point in time if she wasn't so focused on the singular thought in her mind.

“No!" Rose cried, exasperated. "You’re the Smuppet Corporation heir!”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “What about it? Smuppets are great. For the record, I personally am not fond of porn puppets, but it’s whatever.”

John rubbed his face tiredly. "Dave, you should _really_ look into changing your name. I don't know if I can be seen with you anymore now that the secrets out."

"I mean, it wasn't really a secret," Dave said. "Like, if the president accidentally leaked that to the news, they wouldn't care that much, because at this point everybody knows. They might run a paper on it to keep their image up, but the paper's half-assed and ends up in someone's outhouse, reaching its true potential of how shitty the secret was."

" _Still,"_ John insisted. "It's porn puppets, man. They're fucking gross, like, have you seen the videos?"

"I make it an express point to never watch those videos. I still have _standards,_ John."

Jade made a face, confused. “What exactly are Smuppets?” she asked. Poor, poor Jade. Rose wished she didn't have to find out this way.  

Dave laughed, an incredulous look on his face. “Are you saying you have no idea what Smuppets are?”

Jade shook her head no. Dave opened his mouth to explain what they were, but he was interrupted by a loud bang of the door (Rose had a feeling that door was going to take a beating today).

“While Smuppets are an interesting conversation topic, please keep them away from my grandaughter, or at _least_ wait till I’m out of earshot.”

Jade's grandpa was a slightly imposing figure, if you could call his wide, 6'5" tall figure 'slightly imposing'. A notorious big game hunter, he held a collection of guns so expansive that to describe it, you would need an extensive manual to navigate the guide of explanation.  His meticulously groomed mustache, Rose suspected, held the secrets to being the perfect gentleman who could also box any and everybody at the drop of the hat. He held the firm belief that a man must never be without two guns, three knives, and five computers on his person at all times. And of course, he was an intellectual, because what kind of man would he be if he couldn't piece together a nice little radio from craft supplies and sticks while quoting Steinbeck?

Jade smiled widely at the sight of her grandparent. “Hey Grandpa!" She looked around and asked "Where's Grandma?"

He ruffled Jade’s hair as he walked by. “She’s all hogtied up in another meeting and couldn’t fight off that swarm of rather persistent businessmen. Sorry honey-bunches.” He made his way to the head of the table.

John leaned in close to Dave and whispered "I bet that if he and Chuck Norris met, Chuck Norris would ask him to be his father." Dave shoved John away from him, but he didn't look like he disagreed.

“Alright so, introduction time!" Jacob began, clapping his hands together. "I’ve never met another man that I’ve liked that didn’t introduce himself. Now you,” his gaze settled on John, “look like a fine, upstanding man. Pray tell, what is your name?”

“I'm John Egbert."

Jacob nodded to him in greeting. “Ah yes. Egbert is a good, solid name for a good, solid young man like you. Make good choices John!”

He turned to Dave. "And you?"

“I’m Dave.”

“Just David?" Jacob asked. "Were you not gifted a last name at birth?"

John nudged Dave, and looked at him meaningfully. Dave rolled his eyes, but he eventually complied. “Last name’s Strider.”

“Oh, yes, Strider! I’ve heard good things about that name. Tell me, how is your brother faring in his...." Jacob paused, a slightly pained look on his face. ".... _business_ endeavors.”

Dave shrugged. “Ok, I guess.”

“Fantastic!"

He looked over Rose and Jade, grinning widely. "I already know you both, and making you introduce yourselves would just be a waste of my time!" He turned back to the general group and said "My name is Jacob Harley, though I assume you all already know that. You all must've been wondering why you're here, correct?"

Jade nodded. With a grimace, she asked "It's not a think tank, right?"

"Jade, the day I come up with a think tank is the day I invite you to shoot me," Jacob said, dead serious. "No, I've got _actual_ science here today."

"So is it an innovation division?" Rose asked. "Because I have to say, that would be the worst idea you have ever came up with.

Jacob chuckled. "No, it's not that either. I've already got a junior science section in the works, but that's unrelated." He pressed his hand on the glass case in front of him. The glass scanned his hand, and with a beep, it slid into the table. He tapped a few keys on the keyboard, and the holocrons glowed briefly, before projecting a holoscreen. Several paragraphs of text appeared, right along with pictures. It looked like it was a general outline of what the meeting was going to be about, only Jacob had rambled quite a bit while he was writing and the point was lost in his many, many euphemisms.  

"You all know about SkaiaNet, correct?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah, that's what this company was before you bought it and rebranded it," John answered. "Right?"

Jacob nodded. "Rightio, Johnny-boy! Back in my day, SkaiaNet was the most notorious company in innovation, perhaps even more so than we are right now! Anyways, I wanted to know if you all have a general idea about what they did."

Rose tapped the outline point "SkaiaNet" and was redirected what was apparently the _entire_ history of the company. She scanned the many paragraphs until she landed on what she was looking for. Reading briefly, she said aloud "Well, it looks like they were big in genetic engineering and weapons manufacture."

"They mostly worked for the government," Jacob explained. "We've managed to shake free from the government's wretched claws and steer ourselves away from weapons manufacture, thank goodness."  

He continued, saying "The more important part was that while SkaiaNet was under the government, they were contracted to make super-humans to deal with the trans-Atlantic war between the two nations in the Carapacian Mountains. However, Congress decided to shut the program down, but SkaiaNet disregarded the stiff puppets on a stick called Congress, and kept working, managing to create the gene that would give people powers, otherwise known as the aspect gene."

Jacob put his hand to his chest woefully, saying "Sadly, those rat bastard politicians managed to catch wind of the SkaiaNet's doings, and shut that beautiful, beautiful company down."

"Whoa, whoa, wait," Dave interrupted. "What does SkaiaNet have to do with us?"

"I'm getting there!" Jacob said. "Hold your horses, boy!"

"Yeah Dave!" John said cheekily. "Hold your horses!"

Jacob tapped the keyboard, and brought up a photograph of twelve people. "Before SkaiaNet was shut down, they managed to experiment and inject the gene into twelve participants. Some of them are anonymous, working under alias, other's are very well known. Such as, the queen of the Alternian Landmass."

"Really?" John sputtered. "But weren't the experiments, like, super long ago? The Condesce barely looks 25!"

Jacob shrugged. "Result of her powers, I assume. Truly, I'm pretty sure she's about as old as the dinosaurs themselves, but you can't place the blame on her. If I were her I'd do the same!"

"Do you have powers?" Jade asked, slightly indignant. "Because I've _never_ seen you do anything cool."

Jacob clutched his chest. "Me, _not cool?_ Jade, you wound me." He chuckled, and continued, saying "I've got a few tricks up my sleeve, but that's nothing you need to worry about."

"I don't think that answers my question."

He winked, and changed the subject. "Most of the subjects scattered to the wind as soon as the testing was done, and it was a pain to find records SkaiaNet kept to document the process. However, after some digging, Julie and I did find them, and picked up where SkaiaNet left off. We're still working extensively to understand everything the aspect gene can do."

"Wait, what does all this mean then?" Rose asked. " _Why_ exactly are we here?"

Jacob sighed. Scrolling on his own holocron, he projected a large table for everyone to see.

"There's been two stages to the testing. The first stage is when SkaiaNet experimented on the original twelve, and technically they're the only generation in the first stage. We call them the 'Ancestors', for lack of a better term," he explained. "The second stage is when Harley Labs started the experimenting again. There's been two generations of this round, and we've just finished gathering the latest generation."

"Where are they then?" Jade asked.

“My dear, they’re right here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohhhh shit, big dramatic reveal by mr. harley himself. i wonder whats gonna happen next ( ͡° ͜ ʖ ͡° )
> 
> i made John come from the Windy City (chicago) cuz he's a windy boi.
> 
> edit: this has been rewritten!  
> poor john lmao. i think dave was just being super Extra today to mess with him
> 
> i bet if someone suggested a think tank to julie she'd pretend that it's a Horrible idea, but she'd secretly love the idea of a think tank
> 
> a lot more exposition! wowie what a great thing! some explanations for y'all 
> 
>   * the carapacian mountains is one humongous mountain with twin peaks. on one peak is the country of Prospit and the other peak is the country of Derse. deep inbetween the peaks, there's a large valley called Skaia that bisects the countries. several decades ago, there was a falling out over the valley, and derse and prospit went to war against the other. since most countries around the world have connections to both countries, they were dragged in as well. think of it like ww1, but different.
>   * the alternian landmass is a whole chain of islands to the left of south america. it's currently headed by the Condesce. most of the islands are ok, but there's high rates of crime and murder. still, a nice tourist spot!
>   * jacob and julie were 15 when the war between the carapacians began, and 19 when it ended. the aspect gene was created when they were 22, and skaianet was shut down when they were 23. they bought and rebranded skaianet when they were 23. they're currently around 55-60 (big age gap, i know). 
> so yeah, quick little timeline and geography! woohoo im getting things TOGETHER!



	4. aggressively passing your mother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose receives more explanation as to what the hell is going on, because that's important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> enjoy!!
> 
> edit: this has been rewritten!

Time slow down. Time always seemed to slow down at truly significant moments, maybe so that you can savour the flavor. Detect the subtle notes of shock, enjoy the harmony of confusion and disgruntlement. Perhaps even judge how the chef might've sauteed the tension a bit too long.

The room exploded into noise, of course once time caught up with itself. Questions flew around the room faster than Jacob could answer them.

“Am I like the X-men? Or Superman? Maybe _both?!”_  

“Wait, _how?”_

“Dude, are you straight up serious right now? Like, you’re not bullshitting me, right?” 

“Does my mother know about this?”

Jacob calmed them down with a wave of his hand. “One at a time, please. All your questions will be answered.”

He turned to Dave first. “I’m 100% genuine, son. You all tested positive for the aspect gene.”

“So where’s my powers?” Dave asked. “I would’ve had them by now, right?”

Jacob shrugged. “Admittedly, I don’t have a clue! All the testing was done on adults, so teenagers might be a different story. However, the lab boys downstairs have a theory that the gene will blossom with maturity, of which you all are approaching rapidly, so there may be a possibility of you all receiving powers in a matter of days! You all are already exhibiting traits of your aspects!”  

“Wait, how’d we get the gene?” Jade asked. “Is it hereditarily passed down? Or do you have to be injected with it? How does the genome even _work?_ Do we really even know if we’ll get powers?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Jacob cried. “Slow your roll, my dear girl! I can only say one thing at a time."

Jade huffed in annoyance, but she slowed down. “How did we get the aspect gene?” she asked began.

“Well, as you assumed correctly, it is hereditary,” Jacob affirmed. “All your parents have the gene as well-”

“My parents, you say,” Rose cut in, leaning forward. “Interesting.” Jade kicked her under the table, but Rose ignored her. 

“Yes Rose, your mother has the gene,” Jacob said, perhaps a bit tiredly. “I’m not at liberty to tell you all the exact details, but she’s had it since she was college-aged.”

Rose nodded solemnly. “Yes, of course.” She steadfastly ignored Jade boring holes into her as she continued. “So why did I never see her using them?”

“She couldn’t until you were of age to know about all of this,” Jacob explained. “That’s the only reason why. Other than that, she was a vocal advocate that you all know about it from day 1.”

“That makes sense,” Rose said. Slowly, she sat back into her seat, motioning for Jade to continue talking. Jade rolled her eyes, and gave her a face that said many things, but mostly "I'm going to yell at you later  _so hard_."

“As I was saying, the gene is hereditary,” Jacob said, getting back on track. “The Ancestors had injections, and the first generation of the second stage, otherwise known as 'Guardians' also had injections. However, after careful choices and considerations, something different happen in the second generation of Guardians, which are you all."

Typing rapidly on his keypad, he said “You’re bodies are slightly different from both normal humans and your parents. It might be because you lot were born with the gene already inside, but who knows!”

A diagram appeared on the individual holoscreens. Two bodies appeared, but Rose noticed the one on the right was different. She glanced at Jade’s screen, and noticed that while her body on the left was the same as the body on Rose’s left, the body on Jade’s right was different from the body of her own right.

“The body on the left is the typical human body,” Jacob explained. “The body on the right, however, is your own body.”

While Rose was not very familiar with the human body, the required high school courses had definitely told her that the body on the right was while similar to the left body, it had different characteristics.

 

Say for example, the brain was noticeably larger, and Rose was very sure that her organs were not in the right place, if those were normal human organs at all.

 

“Damn,” John whispered. “I know why I can’t donate blood now.”

“You’re worried about that, I’m still tryna figure out how Harley here got a scan of my body,” Dave whispered back. “I’ve like, never step foot in this building _ever_.”

John looked up and asked “So this is solid proof I’m gonna get powers?”

Jacob nodded. “Yes, it is. We also have an idea as to what you all would get, but it’s just an inkling, really.”

John looked back down, staring at the diagram. Whispering to himself, he said “So I’m like Superman _and_ the X-men rolled up in one. _Nice_.”

Jade said something quietly to her grandfather, who replied “Yes, I’ll give you more information later on, but in exchange you’ve got to cool your jets!”

Jade huffed, but she didn't seem to contest him.

“Why are you telling us this?” Rose asked.

“Well, the most obvious is to inform you about yourself,” Jacob said. “Have you ever been up a creek without a paddle? Harley Labs wants to prevent that.”

“Well, what else?” Rose persisted. “Certainly making sure I don’t accidentally kill someone with my newly acquired powers is important, but that can't be _all_.”

Jacob nodded in understanding. “It certainly isn’t all. A few decades ago, Harley Labs decided to create a program so that people with the aspect gene can make a difference in the world, like our predecessors. Your parents joined when they were a little older than you, and we thought you’d like the same opportunity.”

“What _kind_ of difference in the world?” Dave asked suspiciously. "Like, are we talking pollution, or something bigger?"

“It’s like a task force,” Jacob explained. “Dedicated to the forces of good, taking down evil, the whole shebang!”

 

Well, Rose mused. That answer was vague and mysterious.

 

“Like Dave said, what kind of evil is at hand here?” Rose insisted. “Corrupt police, war?”

“Aliens?” John added, maybe a bit too excitedly.

Jacob waggled his eyebrows mysteriously. “You’ll see if you join.”

“How confidential is this program?” Rose asked suspiciously. “I have a feeling you won’t answer many of our questions until _after_ we join.”

“Well, it’s pretty damn secret,” Jacob answered. “The trampled weeds called the government isn’t fully aware of it, and half of what they do know is false information.”

Dave readjusted his glasses, and leaned forward. “Sounds like you’re running a spy organization here.”

“Sonny, I might as well be.”

“So, say I join this group,” John began slowly. “What exactly would we do?”

“We usually train you for about a year or so,” Jacob said. “You won’t see the field for quite awhile until we think you’re ready.”

Dave scrolled through his passage, reading slowly. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak.

“Do we _have_ to join?”

Jacob shook his head gently. “You don’t have to join at all. Harley Labs will still train you to control your powers, and you’ll be set free. The task-force is completely optional.”

Breath was exhaled throughout the room, like everyone was thinking the same thing. In a way, Rose was glad that Dave brought up his question instead of letting it linger unsaid, or maybe unthought of, in the air. The task force seemed fun, but Rose didn’t exactly want to put her life on the line. She’d barely lived her life as it is.

The room was quiet, not filled with an awkward silence, but a thinking silence. Rose read through the outline again, examining the part about the task force. She was intrigued by the promise to bring good in the world, but at what cost?

“I best believe it’s time for a recess!” Jacob announced suddenly. “Thirty minutes to process everything, get snacks, and refresh! We’ll begin on the second half when we resume!” 

* * *

 “So.....” Rose began slowly outside the room. “That was a lot to process.”

Jade nodded in agreement. “Yeah, it was. I didn’t even get as _nearly_ as many answers I wanted, and I’m still kinda overwhelmed.”

“Well, it’s not like this is going to be the only time you’ll receive the information,” Rose said, starting down the hall. “Isn’t your grandfather going to give you some kind of additional information?”

“Probably,” Jade said, falling in step. “I mean, he probably doesn’t wanna bore everybody else with the technical side of it.”

John had already dashed ahead of them, and emerged from a room holding a large white box. Shifting the box, he waved at them with one hand before walking into a conference room on his right.

“Any idea’s what kinda power you’re gonna get?” Jade asked. “Maybe you’ll command the dark arts or something!” It was wise that Jade shifted the conversation over to something light to get their minds off of the heavy topic they were just on.

“Jade, one does not simply _command_ the dark arts,” Rose replied. “I’d like to think I’d have something cooler than that.”

Jade scoffed. “Like _what?”_

“Well, I’ve always liked the idea of being able to directly command spiders to do my bidding. Can you imagine, a sea of them bowing at my very whim?” Rose said. “Wouldn’t that be fun?”

“You said that like a mom talking about a craft she found on pinterest,” Dave said, coming up from behind.

Jade shuddered. “He has a point, it’s really, _really_ creepy. What would you even _do_ with all those spiders once you were done with them?”

“The concept is the more important part here,” Rose sniffed.

They turned into the room John was in. On the table was the box he was holding, the lid already popped off. Inside was an array of donuts, much more than twelve, probably like three dozen.

“Jade,” Rose began slowly. “Isn’t today donut day in the offices?”

“Not anymore!” Jade said cheerfully. Bounding around the table, she grabbed chocolate donut, and sat down in a chair. Taking a bite, she smiled in bliss.

Dave sat across from her. Peering into the box, he asked “Yo John, why are so many of them _pink?”_

John peeked into the box himself. “Oh yeah, that.” He turned to Rose, saying “I didn’t know what kinda donut you liked, but you really seemed to like the color pink, so I grabbed like, every pink donut and pretty much hoped for the best.”

“Pink’s a nice color, but it’s not my favorite,” Rose said.

John gave her a surprised look. “Oh! I thought with your outfit and all, you had to like it a _lot!"_

Jade snorted, and Rose glared at her, kicking her in the shin. She had forgotten that she wore this stupid outfit, but she didn’t deserve to be mocked for it.

Jade shoved the last of her donut in her mouth. “Yeah, she did it to get at her _mom_.”

“She... _what?”_

“You heard her dude,” Dave said. “It was for her mom. Maybe a gift for her birthday, y’know?”

Rose rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t a birthday gift, it as a passive-aggressive move against her. Sadly, she bettered me by calling me abhorrently cute.”

“Her exact words?” John asked, worried. He glanced at Jade, who shrugged unhelpfully in response.

Rose shook her head, smiling gently (she may have possibly enjoyed John’s increasing distress a tiny bit). “No, but she did say she could, and I quote ‘eat me right up.’”

“But isn’t that what they’re _supposed_ to do?” John asked, confused. “Embarrass you and be overly affectionate? My dad bakes cakes all the time, it’s _fucking_ annoying.”

“John, it’s a game only Rose and her mother can play,” Jade sighed. “I can barely understand it myself.” She sighed, and grabbed another donut to. Contemplating it for a few moments, she neatly shoved the entirety of it into her mouth.

“Anyways, what do you all think about that meeting huh?” Jade asked, tactfully changing the subject.

Dave propped his feet on the table. “Being super real here, it was freaky as fuck when Harley showed us the bodies.”

John nodded. “I mean, I thought I was pretty normal! Maybe a little anemic, a bit on the lightweight side, but normal!”

“Aw, it’s not _that_ bad!” Jade said. “I’m more of an physicist than a geneticist, but the science behind it has got to at least a little interesting!”

“Perhaps the bodies give us a clue as to what abilities we’ll get,” Rose suggested.

Jade rolled her eyes. “Did your body tell you that you’ll be able to control _spiders_?”

“Being able to influence spiders is a very real and cool power,” Rose insisted.

“That’s not even a kinda okay power, it's just weird,” John said. “Now, _invulnerability_ , that’s where it’s at.”

Dave scoffed. “Invulnerability? Are you kidding me? Wouldn’t you want to be able to move objects with the power of your _mind!”_

“What about both?” Jade suggested. “Being invulnerable _and_ telekinetic would be awesome!”

They sighed, quietly mulling over what kind of abilities they would receive.

“What’d you guys think about the force?” John offered quietly. “Are you thinking about joining?”

Jade shrugged. “I am thinking about it, and I probably will. I’d feel pretty bad if I had all these abilities and I didn’t do anything to help anyone.”

John nodded in agreement. “Honestly, it feels like something is _pushing_ me to join, and it’s not Mr. Harley or anything, it’s me.”

“Yeah, but we’ve got _lives_ , y’know?” Dave pointed out. “Our whole future is ahead of us. Is it selfish to say that maybe I _wanted_ to go to college, or travel the world?”

Rose shook her head. “It’s not selfish at all, and as a matter of fact, I agree with you. Maybe if I was a little older, I’d jump in wholeheartedly. But as Jade said, I’d be dealing with the guilt of my inaction as well.”

They were quiet again, only not a nice "Aw man, I'm gonna get  _powers!"_  kind of quiet, but a sad "I might  _die,_ " kind of quiet. Rose considered her options again. Save the world, or go back home and let others deal with it.

 

To be honest, going home was tempting. 

 

John’s phone went off, and he stood to go. “The meeting’s starting up again in 2 minutes.”

“Great,” Rose said, grabbing the last donut in the box. “Let’s go make one of the most important decisions of our lives.” 

* * *

The conference room was empty when they returned. Rose supposed that Jacob could be late to his own meeting, because it wasn’t like they could complain about it.

Dave hopped in a chair different from his original. He looked at his holoscreen, which was two seats down from him, and groaned. “John, can you pass me the screen?”

John pursed his lips. “Can’t you get it yourself?”

“Uh, no? You’re standing, and I’m sitting.”

John rolled his eyes, but he slid the holographic screen over begrudgingly. Dave finger gunned in appreciation, John huffed, grumbling under his breath before taking his own seat.

Rose glanced back down at the holoscreen. The image of the two bodies hadn’t disappeared.

 

Yes, Rose was fairly certain those were the wrong organs in the wrong place.

 

Jacob slammed the door open, interrupting Rose’s thoughts. “Hello again, young’uns! You’re all feeling dandy and refreshed?”  They all nodded, and Jacob clapped his hands together in satisfaction.

Taking his place at the head of the table, he gazed at them intently. “Have you all made up your minds?”

 

Most of them nodded this time.

 

“I’m gonna join,” John said. “I mean, I’ve always wanted to do this sort of thing, and now I can. It’ll probably be better than the Navy anyways.”

Jade nodded in agreement. “I want to help in any way I can, whether it’s life saving technology or beating up bad guys.”

Rose drummed her fingers on the table, thinking. “Would I be able to back out if I had second thoughts?”

“Of course. This is 100% voluntary.”

“Then I’m in,” Rose answered. “I don’t want to leave anyone hanging.”

Eyes turned to Dave, watching expectantly. His face was blank, making it difficult to read what he was thinking.

Finally, he sighed. “Somebody’s gotta watch you knuckleheads.”

Jacob gave them all a proud, fatherly smile. “You all make me so proud.”

His smile faded, and he looked at them solemnly. “I’ve got some bad news for you all.” There was a silence as he gazed at them intently, hands tightly clasped together.

 

“You’re all being relocated to Harley Labs.”

 

Dave sighed in relief. “I thought you were gonna say I’m gonna die in 3 years or something.”

“No, no, nothing like that,” Jacob said, chuckling. “However, with a good diet and plenty of exercise, you might die in 60 years.”

“Wait, how are you gonna swing the whole moving thing?” Dave asked. “I mean, not like I have anything against it, but it seems kinda spur of the moment.”

“Everything’s already been set up,” Jacob informed him. “Your guardians already signed you all over, and the living spaces are already set up. You should be able to situate yourselves in a few days!”

“We’re gonna be able to visit home, right?” John asked. “Like, this isn’t a 24/7 set up, we’ll have some vacations?”

Jacob shook his head no. “Unfortunately, you won’t see your home for quite awhile. It’d be putting you and everybody in danger. Is that clear?"

John sighed. Putting on brave face, he said “No, I understand.”

“I offer my condolences son,” Jacob said sympathetically. “I know how hard it can be to leave home at such a young age.”

He directed their attention towards their holoscreens, a picture of a luxurious loft depicted. “Now, if you follow along with me, I’ll give you a tour of your living space.” 

* * *

Rose stretched upwards outside the conference room once they were dismissed, stiff from sitting for a long period of time. John and Dave were already ahead of them. John still looked considerably upset, and while Dave seemed aloof, he did look slightly distressed that his normally upbeat friend was down.

“That was definitely _something_ ,” Rose said, catching up with Jade.

“I know!” Jade said cheerfully. “We’ll be roomies! Well, technically speaking, we’re not actually roomies, but we’ll be living in the same building together, so that's something!”

Rose nodded. “There is that. After all, it’s been one of your dreams for me to be able to transportalize myself into your room at a moment’s notice.”

“There is that,” Jade said. “Get ready for a sleepover _every night_.”

“Maybe not _every_ night,” Rose countered. “But pretty damn often. A girl’s gotta get her beauty sleep, y’know?”

Jade nodded. “Beauty sleep is an important aspect of everyday life,” she said solemnly. “Besides, I can always bother John and Dave. I’m sure they’ll be happy to see me at three in the morning!”

“I’m sure they will,” Rose chuckled. “Anyways, I never suspected that the second floor was an apartment, much less my own. How long has your grandfather been preparing again?”

Jade shrugged. “Dunno! I think he was a boy scout though, so that’s gotta count for something.”

“I also didn’t want to believe that Jacob had that many apartments just ready to go,” Rose added. “Wasn’t the second floor some kind of top-secret lab, anyways? It just doesn't make sense that it's been an apartment the entire time."

“You're mostly right, it _used_ to be a super secret lab before it was converted,”  Jade agreed. “But he moved the labs to the office floors, and the office floors to another building he just bought.”

“I’m sure I would’ve noticed if he did all that,” Rose said.

“It was during finals week,” Jade explained. “You were such a zombie, I doubt you would’ve noticed if the world ended.”

Rose scoffed. “Excuse _you_ , but I was sharper than ever. I really do believe the espresso and Red Bull mixed together helped to increase my senses.”

Jade rolled her eyes. “You were a bundle of nerves! You almost convinced me that there was something in the corner of my room, and I could barely understand what you were saying!”

There was rambunctious cackling in front of them. Dave must’ve said something John found hilarious, because he was beet-red in the face and doubled over laughing. Dave looked particularly pleased with himself. He was probably trying to cheer up John from earlier, and he seemed like a good guy, even if he was an asshole.

Jade gave Rose a look.

_Should we catch up?_

Rose nodded slightly, almost imperceptible to the untrained eye.

_Hell yes._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it's so dialogue heavy, it was waaay worse than before i edited. i'm gonna try to include more of rose's thoughts and feelings next time (watch me write just thoughts and feelings and maybe two lines of speaking).
> 
> see you in two weeks!!
> 
> edit notes:  
> rose, controlling spiders is super fuckin weird. just being super honest.
> 
> some brief history!  
> rose's mom, along with everybody else's parents/guardians were about college age (20-25) when they tested out the harleys newly recreated aspect gene in exchange for money (they were broke college kids who needed a quick buck). once the guardians powers developed, the harleys proposed the idea of an elite taskforce to test the limits of the aspect gene, and lowering the crime rate around new york would be a bonus. most of the guardians didn't want to do it, because it was dangerous, and they were all kinda young. however, the harleys told them they'd get paid pretty well, and the rest is history.
> 
> of course, the harleys had other motives for creating the taskforce, but that's for a different time ;)
> 
> i really tried to make the beta kids choice to join the taskforce like...realistic? like in the comic they pretty much jumped into danger headfirst, but they weren't fully aware of what the consequences of playing the game would be. i wanted to try and think about what they would do if they knew beforehand what would happen when they play the game, and implement it here.


	5. magic cake wizard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose discovers some pretty cool hidden talents, and also has an mini-breakdown along the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry i missed yesterdays update, i completely forgot! so here, a nice new chapter i've been obsessing about for the past two weeks.
> 
> edit: this has been rewritten!

A few weeks passed after Jacob Harley revealed that Rose was not a normal human being.

Jacob worked on waiving legal issues of having four teenagers live in his building (because apparently having four minors living right above science labs harboring many dangerous chemicals and experiments is illegal).  
  
So, Rose spent most of her days at Harley Lab’s, messing around. At night, John stayed at the hotel with his dad and Dave, and Rose slept at her mother’s house.

Rose refrained from asking Renee any questions, even though her curiosity was insatiable. It was difficult, considering Renee kept dropping tantalizing bits of information every time she talked to Rose. Even though Jade constantly stressed that her mom was just trying her best, it was difficult to see it that way. Still, she would try her best, even if her best wasn’t exactly the best around. Baby steps.

  
Finally, after what felt like forever, Jacob had finally convinced the judge that he was a perfectly responsible guardian even though he wasn’t (letting Jade do whatever the fuck she wants doesn’t exactly scream responsible). He sent a car to pick her up the day of, and Rose regretted not packing beforehand. She dragged up her old suitcases from the basement, and dropped them with a heavy thud on the floor.  
  
Renee sat on the corner of Rose’s bed, watching her pack.  
  
“I’m gonna miss you,” she said. She was without her usual drink, and had been for the past 48 hours. It was like she wanted Rose to know that whatever she said came from a perfectly clear state of mind. How truly horrible-

Baby steps. Renee wasn’t trying to attack her.

Regardless, the bitter replies came up naturally, so Rose decided not to say anything for the time being. Renee would fill the silence anyways, and probably wouldn’t expect Rose to say much.

Finally, Rose zipped up the last of her suitcases, and Renee’s emotional ranting about how Rose was such a lovely young woman and how proud she was to see Rose going off and kicking the world's ass came to a close, she made a move to leave. However, Renee stopped her, and pulled her into a hug, breathing deeply before letting go.  
  
“I’m gonna wait back here,” she said. “Sorry for being emotional.”  
  
“No prob,” Rose said, voice slightly creaky from biting back verbal vomit. “Mother’s are, uh, supposed to do that.”  
  
Renee gave her a sad smile, and Rose walked out the door before she could say anything else.

Sitting outside to wait for the Official Harley Lab’s Van™ to come and pick her up, Rose willed the van to come faster. But knowing her luck, it would probably get stuck in traffic, and then get a flat tire. And maybe the driver would die, it depended on how much the universe hated her right then and there.

It was a rather nice day, a break from the sweltering New York heat, and there was a brisk breeze that kicked up her hair. Sunlight streamed through the forestry, making the flora around her much more lively and amiable than it normally is. Rose saw large yellow flower next to her, and plucked it. Childish, yes, but Jade would probably like it. Rose was willing to forgo her maturity to do something as simple as taking a flower if it meant making her friend happy.

Jade. Rose couldn’t shake the queasy feeling she whenever her thoughts drifted towards her. Lately, some of her dreams felt more real and vivid than others, like she was living them. Most of them were boring, like John would prank her, or Dave would do something stupid, just regular everyday things. However, one dream stuck out the most, painfully pricking her subconscious every night.

 

_Raised arm, something glints in the moonlight. The hand twitches, and squeezes, a gunshot echoing._

 

It was hell, experiencing the death of one of her closest friends every night. She stopped sleeping for long period of time, only napping when Jade gently reminded her that she should get _some_ amount of rest.  
  
Everybody noticed the bags under her eyes, but nobody questioned her about it (Dave did offer her his extra pair of sunglasses on more than one occasion, however). Rose was glad that nobody tried to talk to her about it, because she wasn’t sure she could explain it. Everything around it felt...

 

Supernatural.

  
Rose had a feeling that whatever this is wasn’t just a projection of her fears or insecurities, like she afraid one of them was going to die doing this taskforce thing. She didn’t want say something stupid like she was seeing the future, but it definitely felt like she was seeing the future and could do absolutely nothing about it. It might’ve been her aspect emerging, but Rose was still clinging to the possibility that she’d be able to control spiders.

Even if it was her aspect, it wouldn’t have freaked her as much as the dream did.  
  
Ugh. She didn’t want to think about it anymore.

The van arrived, effectively distracting Rose from her thoughts. Rose climbed into the back while the driver stepped out to take her luggage. The car was fairly nice, at least, nicer than some of the cars the Harley's tried (and failed) to start up a car line. The most prominent thing about the car was its control panel that also separated the driver and the passengers. Usually, the control panel was used to adjust the level of the seats, but it did other things as well. However, it’s an extensive list of things that didn’t need to be repeated.

But what the hell, let’s go for it:

  * Transforming the car into a plane
  * Offering a nice egg, perfectly deviled. There are options for other foods, but you only receive eggs. 
  * Rolling down the window
  * Dispense a Miniature Barbie Dream House
  * Watching cable networks
  * Open the sunroof
  * Temperature control
  * Dispense candy (no candy however, just more eggs)
  * Killing a man (Rose wasn’t 100% sure about this one, but there were some mysterious stains on the seats once. Possibly her tipsy mother, possibly murder, who knows)
  * Cruise control
  * Video calls
  * Tissue dispenser. Also, eggs are confusingly offered. Rose doesn’t know what was going on in the labs when the van was being developed. The egg thing is probably why the car line failed miserably.



  
Of course, this was just naming a few features.

John was already in the back when Rose climbed in, already fiddling with the control panel.

Rose waved, sitting on the fine leather seat. “Hey John.”

John waved back. “Hey Rose! Did you know that you could adjust the seat temperature to cold? I didn’t know anyone could do that!”  
  
“I’m aware,” Rose replied. “It’s not the most popular, though. I mean, who wants to sit in a cold seat? It’s unnerving.”  
  
John shrugged. “I guess. Still, it’s pretty fucking cool.” He continued to mess with the controls, stopped, and pointed at Rose excitedly. “Hey, I guess you could say it’s _cool!”_  
  
Rose rubbed the bridge of her nose. “John, _please.”_  
  
“Aw c’mon! I tried on that one!”  
  
“You stumbled upon it in an accident, I wouldn’t say you tried very hard.”  
  
John rolled his eyes, and turned back towards the control panel, studying it intensively.  
  
“What are you doing now?” Rose asked, watching John as he tentatively inched closer towards a button. “Also, don’t press that one. You’d get ejected, and as much as I’d love to see you go flying, I doubt Jacob would let me hear the end of it.”  
  
“Wow, thanks for watching my back,” John said drily. “I’m trying to see if I can find the minibar. I don’t wanna drink from it, just want to see if I can _find_ it.”

Rose leaned back in her seat, crossing her legs. “Good luck with that.”

They fell quiet. Rose pulled out her phone, intending to catch up on a book. The contents will remain undisclosed, and if word about her reading material did come out, Rose was very certain that she would kill the son-of-a-bitch who leaked that information. Eventually, John gave up with the control panel, and pulled out his phone instead, playing a game.  
  
“Hey John,” Rose began casually. “Can I ask you a question?”  
  
“Go for it,” he said.  
  
“Has your aspect come in yet?”  
  
John hummed in thought, and shook his head. “I don’t think so, unless you count super senses, because lately everything just seems super loud and smelly and I've been getting migraines.” He turned to her and asked “Has yours?”  
  
“No, I don’t believe so,” Rose answered. “Or at least, I hope not.”  
  
“Why do you say that? Are you saying you _don’t_ want your powers to come in or something?”  
  
“No, I do,” Rose replied. “I’m just worried that if what I think is happening is actually happening, then something bad might happen soon.”  
  
John put a hand on her arm. “Don’t worry about it, man. I bet if you tell Mr. Harley, he can get everything straightened out and things will probably be okay.” He gave her a reassuring smile.  
  
The car pulled into Harley Labs. Jade and Dave were already outside waiting for them, talking about something.  
  
Rose furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. “John, weren’t we picking up Dave from a different location?”  
  
John shook his head no.  
  
“Why didn’t he ride with us?”  
  
John shrugged. “Beats me. He said something kinda weird and left early. I don’t even know how he got here before us, because New York bussing is _shit.”_ He climbed over the seat to where Rose was, and they peered out the window together to observing.  
  
Dave had his bags with him, meaning that he couldn’t have just walked from the hotel he stayed at, unless he was a master at juggling 15 totes. But, it wouldn’t have made sense that Harley Labs would come for him at the hotel and not pick up John as well. Did he take a cab instead?

Dave said something, and Jade laughed so hard, she turned red.  
  
“What’d he say?” Rose whispered.  
  
“I dunno, I can’t read lips,” John whispered back. “I think he told her a joke though.”  
  
“That’s _obvious.”_  
  
“Just sayin’,” John muttered. “Also, why are we whispering?”  
  
“Is that really a relevant question to ask right now?”  
  
“I guess not.”  
  
They fell quiet again, theorising about what could be going on between Dave and Jade.  
  
“Do...do you think he _likes_ her?” Rose asked suddenly.  
  
“Like, like-likes her?”  
  
“No John, he just likes her as a friend,” Rose deadpanned. “Of course like-likes her!”  
  
John made a ‘I don’t know’ sound. “He doesn’t act like that if he like-likes somebody! But I’ve never seen him act like this before, so who knows!”  
  
“Dammit John! You’re the resident Dave expert!”  
  
“But you’re the psychoanalyst!”  
  
The car stopped, and the chauffeur made his way over to open the door. Rose quickly motioned for him to stop, and he did, albeit confusedly. She slid down to the floor away from the window, motioning for John to join her.  
  
“What are we gonna do about this if he _does_ like-like her?” Rose asked John once he crouched down.  
  
“I mean, hassle him? I don’t think they’ll get together,” John answered. “But what about Jade? Does she like him back? Could she even like him back if Dave didn’t like her-like her in the first place?”  
  
Rose buried her hands in her face, groaning. “Ugh, we’re acting like we’re in _middle school.”_  
  
“You’re the one who brought it up,” John pointed out.  
  
“But you went along.” Rose lifted her face from her hands, running a hand through her hair. “Can we promise each other that we’ll just see how it goes?”  
  
John nodded. “As long as we also promise to tell each other any interesting that comes up.”  
  
“Deal.”  
  
They climbed back up to the seat. The chauffeur was still standing dutifully, despite the heat. Rose opened the door, and stepped out. She waved to Jade and Dave casually, as if she and John weren’t just conspiring about them.  
  
Jade waved back excitedly. “Hey Rose!”  
  
“What are you two doing over here?” John asked nonchalantly. Rose appreciated that about him.  
  
“Oh, Dave was telling me about his paleontology class he took last year, and apparently he had an _amazing_ professor!” Jade said. “I think paleontology is kinda dumb, but he loves it!”  
  
Dave shrugged. “Dead things are cool.”  
  
John rolled his eyes. “Only you would say that, you weirdo.”  
  
“ _Anyways,”_ Jade cut in. “I think we should explore! Apparently Grandpa included a whole bunch of new features in your rooms and I wanna test them out!”  
  
They head inside, stopping in front of the transportalizer room. An intern slid past them with a large luggage rack, muttering apologies and possibly profanity, it was hard to tell. Apparently Jacob had expected them to bring a lot of luggage, and prepared accordingly.   
  
“Okay, so who goes first?” John asked.  
  
“What do you mean who goes first?” Dave asked.  
  
“Well, I mean, we can’t _all_ go at the same time,” John answered. “There’s not enough space for all of us including your luggage.”

Rose looked back as the poor intern who was forced to bring their luggage in struggled to get it through the door. They _did_ bring a lot of things.

“Since I brought it up, I'll go first,” John said.  
  
“And why the fuck do you say that?” Dave asked.  
  
“Because I’m on it first, duh!” John leapt on the pad, and began to teleport, but Dave jumped in after him to stop him, and they both disappeared into a puff of smoke.

There was an uncertain squeak behind them from the intern. Nervously, he asked if he should just drop it on the fourth floor so they can get their stuff later.  
  
Jade nodded absently, and gave him a smile, probably hoping to lessen his nerves. It seemed to work, as he stood a little straighter from his hunched position.

The intern wheeled his way up the pad, along with the luggage rack. Something clattered to the ground, and Rose bent to pick it up.  
  
“You dropped your pin,” she said, handing it over.  
  
The intern froze as Rose handed it over. Politely, he snatched it away and shoved it deep into his pocket, berating himself for having lost it, and he should  _really_ fix the hole in his pocket.  
  
“Is it a family heirloom?” Rose asked.  
  
He nodded.  
  
“Well, it looked very unique,” Rose complimented. “I doubt I’ve ever seen a pool-ball pin as an heirloom, much less number four.”  
  
The intern shrugged. Adjusting his grip on the luggage cart to get it over the pad, he said that it was pretty rare, and transportalized away.  
  
“What an awkward dude,” Jade said. “I don’t think I’ve seen him around anywhere.”  
  
“Isn’t he an intern?” Rose asked. “You don’t even talk to the interns.”  
  
“Yeah, but I make it a point to at least know who they are at least!” Jade replied. “For morale. Maybe he’s just new?”  
  
“Possibly.” Rose stepped on the pad herself, transportalizing in the middle of the second floor.  
  
It was dark, and she couldn’t see much besides the small beams of sunlight filtering from the thick blackout curtains. Rose opened one of them, and was pleasantly surprised to see how well the sunlight lit up the room. However, she was surprised at how empty the place was. She assumed that she was going to have to decorate the place herself, considering a few furniture catalogs were left on a small round table in the middle of the room. How considerate.  
  
It was set up a lot like Jade’s floor, with only a few differences. In the corner, there was a half wall that separated her bedroom from the general living area. A prisitine kitchen was in another corner, separated from the general living area by an island.  A television was mounted on the wall, surrounded by comfortable looking armchairs. Rose assumed that a bathroom was around somewhere. Not too shabby, but a bit bland. It could stand some more color.

She’ll decorate later. Right now, the kitchen was calling her name.  
  
She dropped her luggage, and went into the kitchen, opening the fridge . Sadly, the kitchen yielded nothing. The refrigerator was empty. However, she just went shopping for Jade, she probably still had food.

Probably.

Jade wasn’t in her floor when Rose teleported in. She was probably hassling one of the guys to see the new tech she was talking about earlier. While she was waiting, she opened the curtain, letting the sudden burst of sunlight infiltrate the darkness caused by Jade's blackout curtain. The view was rather nice, with the ever classy Noire Casino. If Rose didn't know any better, she would've thought it to be an old theatre that once used to be a hub of activity, but foot traffic has slowed down, but it's aged gracefully. The only thing spoiling the site of the once-great theatre was the distastefully green billboard advertising English's Furniture Store, complete with an ugly green gremlin. She scoffed in disgust, and turned away. 

Bec came bounding around the corner and rammed himself into Rose, clearly wanting human interaction and affection. Rose gave him a few loving pats, and filled his water and food bowl.

Opening the fridge door, she winced in pain. There was nothing to eat, and the trip was fruitless (but not literally, considering there was an apple and a block of cheese).

She sighed, and made a mental note to go shopping. She also made a real life note for Jade when she came back, to remind her to order groceries for herself. Jade was a certified genius with photographic memory, but it was selective photographic memory, being able to recall facts she read in a book when she was twelve but couldn’t tell you for the life of her what she did yesterday. So, Rose took it upon herself to remind her to eat, or sleep, or go take a shower you’ve been in the lab for _three fucking days._

 

It’s the kind of thing a loving friend would do.

 

Soon, Rose found herself in front of the television, watching some dumb romcom of which she was desperately trying very hard to stay uninvolved but was failing miserably. She pet Bec, and distractedly took a bite of of something, recoiling when she realized she accidentally picked up the cheese instead of the apple. It wasn’t even the good kind, it was some kind of heavily processed cheese that couldn’t be bothered to get on Velveeta’s level.

Jade transportalized in around the middle of the movie, grinning ear to ear.  
  
Flopping on the bed, she said “Oh Rose, the gadgets I saw were _incredible!_ Did you know you had a holoscreen built into the _inside_ of your refrigerator? Mine’s only on the outside!” She rolled around, positioning herself upside down on the bed. Her glasses fell to the floor, but she didn’t bother to pick them up.  
  
“If you love technology so much, why don’t you marry it?” Rose said, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.  
  
“Why do you mock our love?” Jade asked dramatically, throwing a hand over her forehead in a melodramatic way. “For your information, Fernando the roomba and I are running away to elope in New Mexico!”  
  
Rose sighed deeply. “But who will fulfill the engagement between the you and the refrigerator holoscreen? Think of the _trade deals_ Jade!”  
  
Jade pouted. “But it’s true love!”  
  
“Do you want to risk a war between the Refrigerator Conglomerate and the Roomba Alliance?” Rose asked. “Because that will be a bloody war, and I doubt the world of house appliances would _ever_ recover.”  
  
Jade sighed sadly. "I guess better not then.” Slowly sliding down onto the floor, she said to the roomba in the corner “Sorry Fernando, but world peace comes first.” Picking her glasses up off the floor, she bounced to Rose, flopping on the couch. “What are you watching?”  
  
“Some romantic comedy. It’s more sad than anything though.”  
  
“I see.” Jade gestured for the cheese, and Rose passed it over. Jade gave her a weird look when she saw the bite out of it, but she didn’t say anything.  
  
They watched the movie for a few minutes. Of course, the protagonist announced his love for his love interest, but they thought he was talking about their dog, so now the love interest is now currently trying to set their dog up with the protagonist in a dogsitting agreement. Rose was now fully invested, and it was only 30 minutes into the movie. Damn it.  
  
Rose glanced towards Jade, who was inhaling popcorn like she needed it to live (where she got the popcorn, Rose didn’t know). The dream came back to her in sudden clarity.

  
_Raised arm, something glints in the moonlight-_

 

Nope. Not gonna think about that right now.  
  
“Rose?” Jade asked worriedly, cutting into her thoughts. “Are you doing alright?”  
  
Rose realized that she had spaced out while still looking at Jade. She nodded, summoning up a smile. “Yes, I’m fine. Just thinking.”  
  
Jade raised an eyebrow suspiciously, but she didn’t say anything more.  
  
“But, maybe you should keep a few guns around,” Rose said offhandedly.  
  
“You say that as if I already don’t!” Jade replied. “Why are you bringing this up? Are you _sure_ you’re alright?”  
  
Rose shrugged. “I mean, just in case. Don’t you believe in the principle that one can never have too many guns around?”

“My _grandpa_ does, I don’t. Remember my uncle Sassacre, the one who was killed by one of his millions of guns _randomly_ going off?” Jade shuddered. “I still remember the funeral.”  
  
Rose rolled her eyes. “Well, despite your obvious trauma about that whole incident, just grab one or two more pistols. I’m sure Jake left behind a few extra.”  
  
“Why are you so hellbent on this?” Jade huffed, turning towards Rose. “What, are you worried about me or something? I can take care of myself, y’know.”  
  
“I'm aware,” Rose said. “I just want to know you’re safe, that’s all.”  
  
Jade gazed at her long and hard.  
  
“It’s probably just nerves,” Rose continued slowly. “About the task force and the whole aspect thing and possibly everything else as well. Please, like one extra rifle. That’s all I ask.”  
  
Jade sighed loudly. “ _Fine_ , I’ll drag up another rifle or two. But seriously, I’m fine, and I’m always gonna be fine. Stop being such a worry wart.”  
  
“Of course. You’ll always be fine.” 

* * *

A few days later, Rose woke up bright and early, all on her own. Disgusting. Maybe she’ll blame it on the sun shining in her eyes.

Her Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Dream stopped recurring in increasing frequency, but it popped up every now and then. Sometimes Jade did live, other times she died, but those had to be flukes. After all, she was more heavily armed now, and like she said, she could already take care of herself. They were flukes.  
  
Just flukes.

She dragged herself out of bed, reluctantly admitting to herself that yes, she was very wide awake and wouldn’t be able to go back to bed.  
  
She took a quick shower, and got dressed. Her stomach grumbled, the last thing she’d eaten was an apple, a bite of cheese, and popcorn. Rose would’ve checked in on her refrigerator, hoping the maybe food had magically appeared overnight, but she had a feeling that wouldn’t be the case.

Instead, she decided to pop over to Jade’s for a visit. Even though Rose knew Jade wouldn’t have any food either, it’d be nice to check in on her. Jade would probably be up at this time, considering she was one of those healthy people who use their time exercise instead of sleeping like normal people.

When she teleported in, however, all her plans of cheering on Jade while she did aerobics or yoga or whatever the fuck were dashed.  
  
Piles of paper were everywhere. Numerous holocrons that charted something floated around lazily, some of them flickering with the low battery warning. Jade stood in front of a white board that she dragged up from somewhere. Bec chilled on the couch, looking very bored.  
  
Apparently Jade had a breakthrough during the night.  
  
Roe stepped off the pad to keep Bec company, but she accidently stepped on one of the papers. Jade whipped her head around, alerted by the crinkle.

“Don’t step on that!” she screeched. “Very important research!”

Rose stepped back, hands raised in defense. “Sorry, I had no idea you decided to be a mad scientist overnight! Perhaps you could give me a memo next time?”

Jade rolled her eyes. “Har, har, very funny Rose," she deadpanned. “I’ll have you know I’m working on something very important.” She pointed to the couch. “Sit.”

Rose snaked her way over to the sofa, being careful to avoid Jade’s piles of papers on the floor. Jade turned back to the board, and quietly muttered something while scribbling something complicated and illegible. Rose watched for a while, stroking Bec. She glanced in the corner, the luggage rack glistening quietly.  
  
“Is there any reason you’re keeping that up here?” Rose asked.  
  
Jade shrugged. “I liked the aesthetic, it makes me feel like I’m in a hotel. Plus it’s _super_ heavy, so I don’t think I’m moving it any time soon. I dunno how that intern managed to move it, he was like a twig!"  
  
Rose nodded in understanding, and Jade turned to the board again. After awhile, Rose got sick of trying to decipher what exactly Jade was trying to accomplish on the rapidly dying holo-screens.

“So,” Rose began slowly. “What exactly is this all about?”

“If I’m right, then it’s about you!” Jade said. “Something crazy has been happening these past few weeks, and I think I know what it is.”

“What is it then?”

Jade grabbed the nearest floating holocron, and shoved it in Rose’s face excitedly. “Ever since we’ve been told we’re gonna get powers, I’ve been recording any sort of paranormal incidents that could only be explained by the aspect gene! This has been charting it!”  
  
Rose glanced at it. “Jade, I’m sorry to say, but this one is just a cat meme,” she said, gently pushing it away. "It's very lovely, however."  
  
Jade pulled it back and studied it. “Huh. I guess it is. I needed inspiration in the middle of the night, and this one was _very_ motivational.” She let go of it, and grabbed a different one, this time checking to see if she grabbed the right one.  
  
“Anyways!” she said, flouncing on the couch next to her. “I’ve been charting events! At first nothing was really happening, but then I noticed something!”  
  
“And that is?”  
  
“Well...” Jade drawled out, flipping through the charts until she landed on what looked like Rose’s chart. “I noticed that you began predicting a lot of things, and then you turned out to be right. Like, yesterday you said to bring an umbrella because it was going to rain even though there wasn’t a cloud in the sky! But then it _did_ rain!”  
  
Rose scoffed. “That was a lucky guess. It was bound to happen at some point, we’ve had a heat wave for two weeks straight.”  
  
“But that’s not the point! I’ve went back all throughout the past month, and all of your predictions were right!” Jade said. “Like when Dave was going to accidently set fire to lab Hephaestus, or when John was gonna prank us, or literally everything else! You haven’t had _one_ wrong prediction! And I didn’t even notice until last night!”  
  
Rose huffed in annoyance. “What are you getting at Jade?”

“I’m saying that your aspect is seeing the future!”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Or, I could just be a _supremely_ lucky guesser?”

“Luck runs out, Rose,” Jade stated. “But yours hasn’t.”

The prospect of seeing the future was an interesting one. However, every time Rose predicted something, she saw it in a dream. And if she saw the future through her dreams then....

  
That could mean Jade was going to die soon.

  
Rose shook her head. “I’m sorry Jade, I just don’t believe it.”

“Fine, but will you humor me?” Jade asked. “Pretty please?”

Rose opened her mouth to say no, but she saw Jade’s puppy dog look, and her resolve crumbled.  
  
“Fine. But just this once.”

“Yay!” Jade cheered, throwing her hands around Rose’s neck. “Just once is all I need!” She shot up off the couch, gathering papers. “Now will you help me clean this place up? It’s a mess!”

After they had finished cleaning, and Jade finished freshening up, she turned on the television, flicking through channels.

“Now Rose, we’re going to video call John, and I need you to tell me what you think John’s doing right at this very moment," Jade said

"Well-"

“And no lying just to prove your point, either!”

“Ugh, I wasn’t going to,” Rose muttered.

Immediately, her mind said that John was going to be sleeping, because that’s what normal people do. However, upon second thought, she saw that John would probably be up, baking a cake. Why he would be up baking at this horrible hour is unknown, but that’s what she got.

  
“He’s going to be up, and he’s going to be baking,” Rose informed her. “But we should just leave him alone, or we’ll distract him, and he’s going to hurt himself. You know how clumsy he is.”

“You sure?” Jade asked.

“I’m positive, Jade.”

Jade reached the video-communication channel for John’s loft. The screen was blue for a second, then the camera flickered to life. John’s floor looked remarkably like Rose’s floor, and she wondered if Jacob made all the rooms the same.

John was in the kitchen, bent over the oven and humming quietly.  
  
Jade yelled “Hiya John!”

He jumped in surprise, dropping something metallic (presumably a pan). He yelped in pain, and rolled on the floor, clutching his foot.

“Jade, you’re the _worst,”_ he groaned, finally sitting up. “Didn’t we talk about not suddenly appearing on my tv without warning? Or was that Dave?”

“That was Dave,” Jade informed. “We never had that talk.”  
  
John frowned. “In any case, _don’t do that.”_  
  
Jade shrugged. Turning to Rose, she said “Well? Doesn’t this prove my point?”  
  
“It was a lucky guess,” Rose grumbled.

“What are you guys talking about?” John asked. He bent down, and picked up the pan he dropped, putting it on the bar.

“Well, we were doing an experiment!” Jade explained. “And I just proved my theory.”

“An experiment?” John asked. He rummaged through the kitchen cabinets before pulling out a plate. “What kind of experiment?”

Jade put an arm around Rose, squeezing her tightly. “Well, I’m convinced that Rose here can tell the future, but she doesn’t believe me.”

John gave her a look. “Why not? We did just find out that we’re gonna get powers.” John slid on oven mitts and flipped the cake pan. The cake slid out gorgeously onto the plate, still steaming. “Are you still hung up on the spider thing?”

“ _No,_ I am _not_ still hung up on the spider thing,” Rose snapped. “It just that seeing the future isn’t the most plausible thing in the world. Predicting what you’re going to do is something I could already do. It’s just a matter of guessing.”

“I dunno....” John sing songed.  
  
Rose raised an eyebrow. “And why is that?”  
  
“Well, firstly, I already told you I don’t like cake, so why would I be making one?” John pointed out. “That wouldn’t make sense.”

Jade’s mouth fell open in shock. “You _what?"_

“I don’t like cake,” John stated. “Like, we all know that the empress runs Betty Crocker, who's to say she doesn't put weird stuff in it?.” He suddenly brightened. “Hey, do you guys wanna come over and eat it? I just baked it to make the place smell nicer, but I’m not gonna eat it, and it would be such a waste if I just threw it away.”

“Yes, we’ll come over soon, and talk more about this in person,” Rose answered for the shell-shocked Jade.

As she turned off the television, Jade cried “He hates cake!?”

Rose nodded, patting Jade comfortingly. “He hates cake.”  
  
“But _how!”_

“Who knows? At least you can take comfort you were right.”

 

When they transportalized, Rose could already smell the thick aroma of baking in the air, and it made the loft 20% friendlier. John's back was turned towards them, preoccupied with cutting the cake.

“Hiya John!” Jade yelled again.

John jumped. Turning around, he brandished his knife, yelling incomprehensible nonsense. He recognized Rose and Jade, he clutched his chest, and wheezed “You're gonna give me a heart attack, Jade.”

Rose stepped off the pad, and John turned back to continue cutting the cake, muttering something unintelligible. Rose took a seat on a barstool, and Jade bounded off to the living room.

“Hey, John, is it cool if I use your tv to invite Dave over?” Jade called out. “I don’t wanna leave him out, you feel me?”

“Yeah, wouldn’t want him to be left out! Actually, could you show me how to do that?” John put the knife down and wiped his hands off on his shirt, jogging to the living room.

Rose marveled at how John and Jade acted as if they were siblings, even though they’ve known each other for less than a month. She could already hear them bickering in the other room. She wondered briefly what it would be like to have brother or sister, but dismissed the idea from her head.

Jade took a seat next to Rose, and John distributed plates with cake on them. “Eat guys, there’s plenty to go around. Dave should be here any second.”

Rose looked down at the cake. It was a simple chocolate cake, there was a few melted pieces of chocolate chips here and there.  
  
“John, how do you have cake ingredients but not clothes?” Rose asked, forking a piece.  
  
“Because my dad thought it’d a good idea to send up food before anything else,” John muttered, glowering. “He sent this through the _express.”_  
  
Rose smirked, and raised the fork to her mouth.

The cake was a slice of something pure. It almost brought tears to her eyes, and Rose wasn’t one to cry about mere baked goods. She didn’t know how John managed to achieve cake nirvana, but he did it, and he was damn good at it.

 “John, this cake is magical,” Jade said around bites of cake. “Are you some kinda baked good wizard?”

Rose nodded. “I have to agree with Jade, this is absolutely _fucking_ delicious. My tastebuds are sobbing with joy.” She shoved another forkful in her mouth, and closed her eyes with bliss.

John blushed, and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Thanks guys, but it doesn’t compare to my cousin’s cake. She’s the one who taught me how to bake.”

Dave transportalized in, and before he could open his mouth, Jade leapt up and grabbed a plate, shoving it into his chest. “Eat.”

“Wow, not even a hello?” Dave asked. “Gotta say, kinda rude.”

Jade rolled her eyes. “Hello, Dave. Now, eat this.” She shoved it more forcefully into his chest.

Dave took the plate, and made his way to the bar. Slowly, he raised the fork to his mouth. Everybody watched expectantly, waiting for his reaction.  
  
“Fuck, y’all are making me nervous,” he said, putting down the fork. “Can you guys _please_ not watch while I eat?”  
  
They groaned, but they turned away from him, very obviously looking everywhere except Dave.  
  
“Oh my _fuck,_ this is fucking delicious,” Dave cried. “Who made this?”

John raised his hand. “I did.”  
  
Dave threw his fork on the table. “I knew it. Why do you never cook for me John?”  
  
“First off, you lived about a million miles away from me, so there that,” John said. “I’m not coming over every time you need a sugary fix.”

“You could've  _mailed_ it to me,” Dave pointed out. “Just put a whole fucking cake in a box and slap a stamp on it, ignore the looks you get at the post office, and call it done. Easy peasy.”  
  
“Yeah, easy.”  
  
“Anyways,” Jade cut in. “We have something super exciting to tell you!” She turned to Rose, saying “Would you like to do the honors?”  
  
“Apparently, Jade believes that I’m able to see the future,” Rose said drily.  
  
Jade rolled her eyes. “I don’t _believe_ , I know! I have the papers to back it up!”  
  
“Wait, how do you know this?” Dave asked. “Rose doesn’t believe it herself.”  
  
Jade opened her mouth to explain, but Rose cut in. “It’s best not to get her started. Being as brief as humanly possible, whatever I predict comes true.”  
  
Dave nodded in understanding. “There was Hephaestus.”  
  
“And the water bucket prank,” John added.  
  
“And the wet stairs.”  
  
“And the exploding responder.”  
  
“OKAY, I GET IT!” Rose cried. “I can see the future. So what?”

“So, that’s cool! It’s super cool!” John said. “Everybody thinks so except for you.”

Rose scoffed. “Is it really my fault?”  
  
“Rose, just a few weeks ago you were excited about this,” Jade said. “But now you’re being all... _negative..._ about it. Is there something you’re not telling us?”  
  
Rose crossed her arms, tight lipped. She didn’t want to worry her friends by saying that Jade may or may not die. She didn’t want to cry wolf about something that might not even happen.  
  
But if it did happen, they could help.

She sighed. “I’ve been having dreams lately. That’s how I’ve been able to predict everything.”  
  
Jade furrowed her brows. “So you knew about your aspect the whole time?”

“More or less,” Rose replied. “So I knew most of what was going to happen. But there’s been this dream, one of us died.”  
  
Jade gasped. “Who was it?”

  
_Fuck._

  
“It was, uh, you.” Rose winced as the words came out her mouth, wishing that she didn’t have to say what had happened.  
  
Jade nodded in understanding. “Is it soon?”  
  
Rose shrugged. “I think so? I don’t think it’s set in stone, though. I’ve manage to change things multiple times.”  
  
Dave exhaled slowly. “Well, that’s a relief. We can keep watch over Jade, check in every half hour. Best fucking night watch around, maybe we can rent ourselves out at the Smithsonian.”

“Great, we have a game plan,” John said. “I’ll take first watch, and we can deliberate from there.”

Dave opened his mouth to speak, but John's stomach grumbled, and loudly. Really, it was like a dying whale, it was that loud. 

“John, what’s the last thing you’ve eaten?” Dave asked.

“Uh, dinner last night, and maybe a few bites of cake?” John answered.

“And I’m betting you don’t have anything in your fridge either?” Rose asked.

John shook his head. “Nope!”

“Great. We’ll have to go grocery shopping then,” Rose announced. “Can’t go on night watch and be hungry as all hell.”

“Go shopping, eat, and then watch over Jade so that she doesn’t die,” Dave said, counting off on his finger. “Easy peasy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> can i offer you a nice egg in this trying time
> 
> whoop whoop, rose can see the future! and don't worry about her power being kinda lame rn, it's gonna be super awesome later on. 
> 
> speaking of powers, if anybody's confused about the mechanics of Rose's super powers, I'm going to explain here!
> 
> Rose can predict the likelihood of a certain event, and receives visions about events that have a high probabilty to occur. Most times she can manipulate her surroundings, and that can lower the probability of the event. For example, Rose receives a vision of Jade breaking her favorite mug by juggling too many things at once. So, to prevent that, Rose might take the mug away from her so Jade doesn't drop it, thus lowering the probability of Jade dropping the mug. 
> 
> To a lesser extent, Rose can predict the immediate outcome of doing an action. For example, in a fight, Rose would know that if she kicked someone in the shin, they'd bend over in pain, and she could go for the head. This vision is much quicker, and has less impact. 
> 
> Both predictions are kinda the same, kinda different. One deals with an event that might happen in the future, and the other deals with the outcome of that event, or the outcome of changing that event.
> 
> oh psa: dave/jade isn't gonna happen. they're just gonna be good friends :)


	6. i can't believe it's domestic!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose goes on a rather _interesting_ shopping trip. She also has a crazy encounter that ends in a way she didn't quite expect!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> enjoy!
> 
> (sorry for missing yesterdays update. i was super busy with fall festival stuff, but i got loads of candy! oh, and happy half-off candy day!)
> 
> edit: this has been rewritten!

Rose pushed a shopping cart. She doesn’t know how she got stuck with cart duty, but she guessed she could shaft it on John when he came back. Unless he never came back, considering he had an actual grocery list, and grabbed his own basket, looking very determined to get his errands done.

 

Then she was probably going to be stuck with it for the rest of the trip.

 

It probably wouldn’t be too bad, she rationalized. After all, she wouldn’t have to go looking for it every time she needed to drop off something. Jade and Dave stuck around for exactly fifty seconds before they left as well, Jade mumbling something about meat and ammo and Dave fucking off to who knows where without bothering with an explanation.

Maybe Rose could use this as a time to gather her thoughts, who knows what. She already decided to push away any thoughts about the possibility of Jade’s soon to be death. There was already a headache in her brain as her newly discovered (but not really) powers began sorting through all sorts of scenarios. She was very certain one of the scenarios entertained the idea of a clown, though the reality of that situation coming to fruition was slim.

She headed towards the cereal aisle first. It was only wise to stock up on cereal since you could pretty much eat it at any time of the day and not be shamed for it. You couldn’t do that with most foods. Like sandwiches, the most universal food in the world (besides cereal, of course). Yes, there’s breakfast sandwiches, and you could have a sandwich for lunch, but when did such a thing like _dinner_ sandwiches ever exist? Eating a bread with a slice of meat and cheese with maybe a mediocre drizzling of condiments on top wasn’t exactly appealing for dinner. Like, yes, there are burgers, but burgers aren’t sandwiches. They’re burgers.

Ergo, cereal was to be stocked up.

Jade was already in the cereal aisle. Upon spotting Rose, she made a beeline for her, excitedly shoved a box in her face. “Rose look!” she cried. “Cereal as tiny pieces of toast! Isn’t that so cool!”

Rose gently pushed it to the side. “Yes, it’s certainly exciting. But maybe you should try the original toast cereal instead?”

Jade made a face. “The _what?”_

“The original toast cereal,” Rose said, presenting a beautiful box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. “True cereal connoisseurs know that nothing can beat the pure simplicity of toast crunch. Your pleb toast cereal wishes it could get on its level.”

“Rose.”

“What?”

“You’re a nerd.”

Rose rolled her eyes as Jade stuck out her tongue, and dropped her choice of cereal in the cart, skipping away. Rose contemplated replacing Jade’s cereal with something else, but to each their own, she supposed. It wasn’t _her_ breakfast that was being ruined.

She continued throughout the store, getting whatever she thought looked good in the aisles. Can of corn here, a box of pasta there, a loaf of bread, putting the can of corn back because she realized that corn is disgusting, the usual. She vacillated between the idea of preparing an actual meal for the thrill of it all, or succumbing siren-like calls of ramen and potato chips.

So far, it looked like the metaphorical siren had a grip on her, for she found herself in the chip aisle before she knew what happened.

“Hey Rose, what’s your future powers say about this bag of chips?” Dave asked, shaking it at her.

“I think it says that if you ask me that one more time, I’m going to cut you,” Rose answered idly, inspecting the vast collection of dips.

“Touchy,” Dave muttered, throwing the bag into the cart, along with many others. He wandered off, in search of other easy to prepare foods. Rose considered following, seeing that Dave probably had a knack for finding instant foods, but decided against it. She’ll explore on her own, dammit.

Jade came back, but only to tell Rose that she grabbed her own cart because she didn’t feel like going back to Rose every time she wanted to drop off something.

“You don’t mind, do you?” Jade asked. “Because I’ll totally come back if you want me to stick around!”

“No, I totally understand,” Rose replied. “Besides, I have a feeling you’d break away every time something caught your eye.”

Jade grinned, and pulled her in for a hug. “Thanks! You’re the best!” She broke away, and bounded off to find her own cart. In a way, Rose felt like the slightly exasperated mother of four who just let one of her children go shopping on their own, and was now battling relief and the sad feeling that their baby was growing up in front of her very eyes. Detestably maternal.

Dave found his way back over to Rose again shortly after, even though she’s made more than an effort to subtly and craftily avoid any and everybody she might’ve had the chance to be associated with.

He shifted the precarious stack of cereal he held to look at Rose. “Jade kicked me out of her cart.”

“Already?” Rose asked, lifting an eyebrow.

“Yeah. And John runs away every time he see’s me. Well, not really runs, but it’s like that walk that birds get when they wanna get away from you but aren’t super dedicated to it, but John’s _really_ dedicated.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Dump it,” she sighed, jerking her head lightly towards the cart.

“Thanks bro,” Dave said, giving her a grateful head-nod while dropping in his cereal. His goods disrupted Rose’s system of grocerial organization, and she saw a slim future where she manages to get back what she had lost. Curse her and her sympathetic ways.

“Don’t mention it.”

Saluting with a peace sign, he left, presumably to stock up on frozen dinners. Rose wasn’t sure how he was going to find her in the vast space that is Walmart, but she guessed that if he really needed her, she’d know.

Her phone began to vibrate as she walked through the meat aisle, ringing with a ringtone she didn’t set, with a contact photo she didn’t take. Suspiciously, she took the call.

“Hello?” she asked, casually inspecting the fish. Salmon was half-off, she was pretty sure that it was a good deal. Probably sure.  

“Hey Rose, it’s me,” John said on the other line, voice echoing oddly.

“How did you get this number?”

“Don’t worry about it,” John replied. “I made myself a contact in everybody’s phone.”

Rose furrowed her eyebrows. “Is _that_ why it went missing for an hour yesterday?”

“Uh, don’t worry about that either. Anyways, when are we heading to check-out?”

Rose shrugged. “A half-hour at most? It depends on how much longer Dave and Jade take to shop.” She dropped the salmon back in the case, deciding that frankly, she had no idea what she would do with a whole salmon, half price or not.

“Aw geez. Are they shopping together? _Please_ tell me they aren’t shopping together.”

“No, they’re separated right now,” Rose said, shouldering her phone and meandering over to the chips aisle again. “I can ping them if you want.”

John sighed. “Please do. I don’t think I can stay in here much longer.”

Rose pursed her lips. “Where exactly are you again?”

John didn't answer. There was only silence on the other end.

“John?”

He stayed quiet, but then whispered microphone “Are you alone?”

“Yes? Why are you _whispering?”_

“No, I mean _really_ make sure,” John whispered. “Make sure Dave isn’t in the shelves or anything. He does that, y’know.”

Rose looked around, but surprise surprise she didn’t see anybody. John was _clearly_ being paranoid. “All clear. Is there a reason you don’t want Dave to find you?”

“He’s been trying to drop things in my basket, and I mean just _really_ weird things, just to see if I notice,” John answered. Taking a deep breath, he said “I’m in the bathroom. With my groceries. Don’t tell the staff.”

There was a soft “hell yeah,” and rustling as Dave kicked the chips off of him, rolling off the shelf and onto the floor. Standing, and brushing himself off, he saluted towards a shocked Rose and ran off, apparently in search of the bathroom.

Rose blinked in surprise, trying to figure out how a 6 foot 4 tall boy manage to cover himself so thoroughly in chip bags that he managed to remain hidden. Or how he found out that Rose was on call with John, or how he managed to hear what he said.

“So, about Dave hiding in the shelves...”

“.....I’m already moving.” The call ended. Rose stared at it for a brief moment, then shrugged. Shenanigans, she guessed. While Dave and John did their weird cat-mouse thing, Rose pinged Jade to get a status update on how close she was to finishing up.

   
****\--tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering gardenGnostic [GG] at 14:45!--****  
TT: How close are you to finishing up? John’s getting fidgety.  
GG: well...........  
GG: i thought i was almost done  
TT: I sense a but coming.  
GG: i found the candy aisle  
GG: theres so much candy rose!!!!! i could die!!!! and i probably will!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
GG: and i dont care!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
TT: If you don’t die by the hands of some assassin sent to kill you, you’re definitely going to die at the hands of a sugar based mascot. I’m worried that when I wake up, I’ll find out you managed to ascend to another plane of sucrose fueled existance, leaving our mortal realm behind.   
TT: It was nice knowing you. Send a postcard telling us about your new place of spiritual residence.  
GG: ill do my best ;)  
GG: meanwhile i think i need another cart to hold all my goodies hehe!!  
**\--gardenGnostic [GG] logged off!--**  
  
Rose sighed, and rolled to check out. Something told her it’d be better to check out now and wait in the car than stick around in this over-conditioned Walmart anymore. Whether or not they were all finished was _suddenly _not her problem anymore.__

Thankfully, a line with less than five people was open. The cashier didn’t look too worn down by being on their feet all day, and Rose’s cart wasn’t so full that she’d be stuck there for what felt like hours on end to get her groceries checked out. She didn’t mind paying for whatever Dave threw in there was well.

She had almost finished loading everything onto the conveyor belt when her ears picked up something familiar. The slightly stuffed-up, the low monotone and the high tinkling of voices she had come to known all too well.

Jade waved excitedly to Rose, pushing two carts of sugary nonsense bright and colorful enough to almost blind her. Obscure flavors of pop tarts, packets of gummy bears, all topped off with cuts of meat for Bec.

Dave, it seemed, had successfully found John, and managed to coerce him into carting around his goods along with John's. On top, mountains of juice, frozen foods, and chips were piled high on top of what looked to be sensible groceries perfect for home cooked meals.

Rose held her head in her hands. The feeling that she absolutely had to leave was most likely none other than her aspect, helpfully guiding her to get her out of the Walmart as fast as she could. She really should learn to recognize the sound of it so she could disregard it for future use.

The cashier stiffened slightly. “Are they, uh, _with_ you?” they asked, something trembling in their voice.

“Yes, unfortunately,” Rose sighed in despondency. She excused herself, and left. If her friends were going to act like total maniacs in the store and buy the most ridiculous foods known to mankind, than there certainly isn't any reason why Rose couldn't indulge herself.

Leaping over small children and ducking their mother's swipes at her, she found what she was looking for. Running back towards check out, along a completely different route considering she didn't want to be piled on by middle-aged women, she made it back. Thankfully, Jade was still unloading her two carts, and there was no rush to get anything done. Proudly, she presented her trophies.

John looked at her them disdainfully. “Broccoli?” he asked. “I mean, do we really need it? Nobody’s gonna eat that.”

Rose shrugged, dropping the heads on the conveyor belt. “We need to keep up the pretense that we’re ordinary teenagers doing ordinary shopping spree.”

John rolled his eyes. “Rose, I don’t know if you can tell, but between what Jade and Dave got, we’ve scared off more than half of the other shoppers.”

Rose scoffed. “Please, this is _Walmart_ we’re talking about. We look more than normal.”

“I guess....”

They finally finished loading the groceries on the belt, and Jade went up front pay for the whole trip. However, she had slight issues with trying to it out, and John went to help after she began the threaten the card reader with disembowelment. This, however, diminished any chance of a speedy departure that Rose had hoped, as John fell to the floor when he saw the grand total of everything. At least Rose could put her 7th grade CPR skills to use.

On the drive home, inside of the standard Harley Labs Van™, John asked “Have you guys _never_ heard of coupons?”

"What are coupons?" Jade asked. "They sound weird. Wait, is this another prank?"

"No, it's not another prank!" John cried! "You know what, forget it. I give up with explaining the simple nuances in life that everybody should know at age 18." He slumped in his seat, clearly disappointed with humanity and Jade's obscure range of knowledge.  

"No, please!" Jade begged. "I wanna learn what these 'coupons' are!"

John shook his head, still pouting, so Dave explained instead. “It’s basically pieces of paper that you get in the mail sometimes, and you get discounts on various items and stuff. It saves a lot of people hella money.”  
   
“John, that was practically chump change to her,” Rose said. “I doubt the accountants would even notice."

“Yeah, sure, whatever. But honestly, we could’ve saved so much money," John countered. "I can already hear my father’s disappointment in me.”

"You can hear fatherly disappointment?” Dave asked, glancing at John from the driver’s seat.

“Yeah dude. My dad is the king of coupons. Once we went on a shopping trip, and the whole thing was hella expensive, but my dad got everything for like five bucks. They've got wanted posters of him, dude."

They had reached Harley Labs by then. Jade and John bickered over who could carry the most groceries in one trip. They eventually ran off as much of the groceries as they could carry, determined to beat the other, and that probably got rid of more than half of the load. Rose and Dave split the rest of the groceries, and walked towards the building. They were in no hurry to get inside however, as the sun begun to set, drastically lowering the temperature.

“Why are we friends with such _dorks?"_ Rose asked, shifting a bag. “Is there any way to help them? After all, with your 'cool kid' persona you so meticulously keep up with, you must have a few tricks in your repertoire.”

Dave shook his head. “I tried to teach John the ways of being chill, but that’s like tossing a couple of ice cubes inside a raging volcano, only this volcano likes shitty movies and pranks. Stick a pair of glasses on it and you got yourself a John Egbert.”

“Don’t forget the coupons. That volcano isn't a certified John Egbert unless there's coupons.”

“Fuck, I forgot about the coupons.”

They were quiet for a few beats before Dave said “I think it’s kinda cute."

Rose glanced up at him, raising an eyebrow suggestively. “Cute, you say?”

“Okay, before you blow the whole thing outta proportion, lemme explain,” Dave groaned. “I just think that the way Jade and John aren’t pessimistic all the time is sweet, like how you see those videos of baby goats prancing around in a field. Naive, yeah, but it’s nice.”

“I suppose,” Rose consented. “Certainly, if it wasn’t for their optimism, I doubt that we’d be here.”

Dave nodded in agreement. They reached the front of the building, and he carefully backed up into the door, opening it slowly. He let Rose pass in front, and followed behind. “Have you received any like....y’know....”

“Visions?”

“Yeah those. Have you gotten any that ends up with Jade alive?”  
   
Rose shrugged. “I got a few of them. However, just because I’ve received a vision about it doesn’t mean it’ll come to fruition. We’ve still got to be vigilant.”

“I know, I know,” Dave replied. “Just wanted to know if I could do anything to, y’know. Help.”

“Just be alert,” Rose answered. “You being ready to go increases Jade’s chances at survival by 10%."  
   
"Wow, you really got it down to a science," Dave joked. "What's next, you're gonna tell me tying my shoes raises her chances by 2%?"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Actually, it'd raise it by 1%, so nice try smartass."

Dave sighed. “Wish it was more.”

“I do too.”

They reached the transportalizer room. Dave turned to Rose, and said in the most serious tone of voice “I know how close you two are, so I gotta tell you that if you tell Jade that I think she’s cute in any way, shape, or form, I’m gonna steal your food.”

“Don’t worry, Jade will never know about any of this,” Rose said, already having filed away the information to tell John later. Semantics are a very useful loophole.

He gave her a head nod in appreciation. “Thanks.”

“No prob.”

* * *

Rose read the clock.

12:43 am.

Her shift wouldn’t be up for another 7 minutes. She hadn’t slept at all, out of fear of not being there to help Jade when she needed it. Already she rearranged her furniture, put up her groceries, did yoga, anything to put her mind at ease. She went through the plan they made earlier in her head again. Every hour, one of them would stand guard in Jade's room. They'd look around, make sure nothing was suspicious while updating every 10 minutes on the hand-held radios that John had bought. Apparently he had more than just groceries on his list.

If there was an encounter, they'd do all they could to stop it. This plan would be in effect until the assassination attempt took place.  
   
They didn't tell Jacob Harley about the visions or the plan, out of fear that the extra security he would install would drive the assassin to even more extreme methods of assassinating, such as blowing up the building, or gassing the room.  
   
As the day began to came to a close, the visions that Rose summoned up began to give her definite answers, percentages solidifying from approximates to definites. A common theme began to rise in the most successful visions. She had a feeling that she was coming to a conclusion as to what had to happen to ensure Jade's survival.

She just wasn't sure if the conclusion was one everybody liked.

Rose picked up the radio. John's last report was 3 minutes ago, and he would've said something if something seemed fishy, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Maybe it was just her paranoia, but maybe it was her aspect, telling her that something was up.

She bit her lip nervously, contemplating her choices laid out in front of her.

She decided John probably wouldn’t mind being relieved a few minutes early.

As she stepped on the transportalizer, she had the feeling that she’s done this before, and the vague feeling that left her feeling sick in her stomach that she knew what was coming next. The visions in her head began playing themselves over and over, each with just a slightly different end.  
   
Rose was prepared. She had to be.

With a flash, she arrived in Jade’s room. She ducked behind Jade's arm chair, and quickly surveyed the scene. John was out cold, neatly tied up and tucked away in a corner. A thin trickle of blood ran down his forehead, and Rose sucked in a breath. However, his chest raised and lowered slightly, and she breathed a sigh of relief. After all, her visions told her there was a 40% chance that John would end up like this, and a 10% chance he would die. He knew that however, and Rose admired his bravery.

An ominous figure stood at the foot of Jade’s bed. 96% chance it was a person who killed her, 4% it was done remotely. Rose was glad there was a human element brought into it, as it might lower the 95% chance that Jade would die tonight.  
   
The man almost glowed in the moonlight in his lime green suit, his dark red hat a stark difference. Even though this is the most despicable man on the planet, Rose did have to admit, he had a certain amount of fashion sense. However, she didn’t know how he got in. The two doors that led into Jade’s room had been locked and alarmed, because there was a 30% chance that they’d try to come in through the doors, but be deterred by the alarm going off. The windows were fine, (and also shatterproof) so Rose knew that he didn't break one of them.

Red Hat shifted his grip, and something glinted in the moonlight. At first, Rose thought it was his own gun, but upon closer inspection she realized it was one of Jade's favorite rifles.

Before the sharply dressed intruder could get an opportunity to strike, Rose shouldered him into the ground, causing him to drop his gun. Before he could recover, she kicked it, sending it scattering across the floor far away. Jade took this as an chance to roll herself out the bed, running to the closest place she kept a gun, upping their chances of survival from 14% to 38%.  
   
Groaning, the intruder rolled over, and reached into his jacket, pulling out yet another gun (how many of these did he have? talk about overkill). Quickly, Rose leapt on top of him, and grabbed it, struggling to snatch it away from him. While they wrestled, she noticed something on his lapel, that made her stop still for a few fatal seconds. The man noticed her momentary lapse, and with his free hand he took this as an opportunity to reach in his pocket to pull out something else, and plunged.  
   
Pushing Rose off of him, he aimed his gun at Jade, but she was quicker to the draw, cocking her rifle and aiming squarely for his head.

 

A few seconds passed.

Red Hat dropped to the floor, dead.

 

Slowly, Jade lowered her gun. Breathing a sigh of relief, she gave Rose a tired, but wide smile. “We did it!” she cheered. “I’m still alive!”

Rose gave her a thumbs up. “You’re still alive.” She tried to push herself up off the ground, but flash of pain caused her to drop back down to the ground again, hissing in pain.

“Rose?” Jade asked, slightly worried. “Are you alright?”

Rose nodded, waving Jade away. “Of course, I’m fine. I’d just...y’know.” She shifted slightly, and winced in pain.

“What do you mean _y’know?”_ Jade asked, making her way to Rose. Gently, she moved her hands away and gasped when she saw the handle, dark red and sticky.

“Oh my God, oh my God oh my _God!”_ Jade screeched, getting louder with every syllable. She jumped up and ran for her panic button, slamming it with force. "Why didn't you say anything!"

Rose shrugged, gingerly sliding down to the floor, sucking in a pained breath every time she moved. "First, I'd like you to breathe, and calm down. It's really not that big a deal." 

"Of course it is!" Jade shouted. "You've been  _stabbed_ , and you hid it!" She paced, taking in a few quick breaths. After she was a bit calmer, she knelt near Rose. Carefully, she peeled away her shirt, inspecting the wound. Her brows furrowed.

"Tell me how bad it is," Rose said.   
   
Jade sat on her haunches, shoulders sagging. "It's in there pretty deep. I can't take it out, or you'd die of blood loss, and I don't know what kind of organ I'd be fucking up if I tried to pull it out anyways."  
   
She laughed bitterly. "If we were normal, I could do this in a heartbeat. Instead, I don't know the first thing about repairing you, or me, or anybody!" She took Rose's hand, grasping it tightly.

Rose brushed her hair out her eyes, the motion slightly fruitless considering her vision was already going dark. She only had a few more moments left, and she had to make them count. “Jade, listen, y-you have to listen to me,” Rose said with increasing urgency, wanting to get the words out before she died. “His lapel, you have to check his lapel.”

“What do you mean?” Jade asked, confused. “What about his lapel? How is that gonna help you!”  
   
“I can’t explain, but his pin, it’s important,” Rose answered.

Jade shook her head. “I don’t care about that right now. Maybe...maybe I can try to use tourniquet, or try to stop the bleeding. I mean, I know I just said that I'd be fucking something up, but dammit I can try!” She kept rambling, trying to find ways to save her Rose, her beautifully sharp mind working at the speed of light.

Rose stopped her, too painful to watch Jade spiral. “It won’t work,” she said softly. “I already knew I was dead before I stepped foot on the transportalizer. It was a 98% chance this would happen, and you know how shitty my luck is."

“So what am I supposed to do!” Jade cried. “You’re my best friend, and you’re _dying!_ I can't do this without you!"

“Yes, you can,” Rose murmured. “ You've done it before, you can do it again. For now, can you...."

She trailed off, slightly embarrassed. Even her dying moments, she still felt shame. Unbelievable.

"What?" Jade asked quietly, her voice warbly. "Can I what?"

"Can you just be here for me?" Rose asked quietly. "I....I don't want to die alone."

Jade nodded, and scooped up Rose into her arms as gingerly as possible. Rose breathed deeply, briefly letting herself be held. Jade held onto her tightly with her warm body and strong arms, as if she was trying to keep Rose’s soul from departing from her body. They didn't speak, just spent their last precious moments together in silence.

“When you find the bastard who killed me,” Rose wheezed, clutching Jade’s face and staring into her eyes. Those bright green eyes, that sparkled with tears threatening to spill over. "When you finally find those sons of bitches..."

The tears started to spill, and Rose could vaguely feel a wetness going down her own cheeks. She was going to miss Jade, and her green eyes, and her strong arms, and her warm body, and her beautiful mind and her goofy grin and everything about her that made her Jade Harley. Maybe in another life, they'd make it.

But Rose already knew that she would do this a thousand times over.

With her last bits of remaining strength, she smiled and said “Give ‘em hell.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D
> 
> im sorry for killing rose, but it's a good way of progressing the story, yes? but since i hate cliffhangers, i /might/ update next week instead of the week after that one. i said _might_. (but i probably will forgot oh no...)
> 
> also, i didn't notice this at first, but somehow everyone's just really rich? why are they all millionaires? that's probably the most unrealistic part of this fic tbh.


	7. the time for realizing things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aftermath of Rose's "adventure." Also, some plot stuff! It's all very interesting, really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE! she's not dead! not like u all thought that lmao. also, sorry sorry this is a bit slow, but it's build up to the nonexistant plot
> 
> (i kid. the plot is there....somewhere)
> 
> edit: this has been rewritten!

Rose’s eye’s snapped open. And then snapped close again, instantly irritated from the bright light shining down on her. A single thought came to her instantly.

 

_Am I dead?_

 

She heard a voice announce “Nope. You’re in the infirmary.”

 

Whoops. Apparently she wasn’t fully in control of her inner monologue just yet.

 

She sat up with a groan, stiff. Her body was sore all over, and a headache pounded in her head. She didn’t see many visions that ended up with her in a hospital, because she being dead was pretty much the end of the line. 

“I feel like hell,” Rose groaned.

“You look like it.”

“Mmm, thanks.”

She looked around the room. Jade and John slept on a two person sofa a few feet away, still in their pajamas. Dave sat next them in an arm chair, also in pjs. His ever-present glasses rested next to him on the table, near a glass of almost-untouched water. His leg jiggled at a nervous pace as he chewed his nails, staring off into space.

“Do we want to talk about what happened, or should we wait to discuss it later?” Rose asked slowly. “I’m perfectly content to discuss it later, but my curiosity is burning. I’m afraid I’ll end up a pile of ashes in the morning.”

Dave sighed. “Might as well beat the elephant while we’re here. Don’t want you out of the loop.”

“So,” Rose said slowly. “What happened?”

“Well, Dave began. “I heard the gunshot, so I ran to get Harley. I know you guys wanted me to come down and try to help, but something in me was like ‘go get the grandpa,’ so I did. We both hauled ass down to Jade’s room, pulled her off of you, and carried you to the infirmary. We're still in the building, by the way. Apparently there's clinic in case anything like this happens."

“That explains why everything is so quiet,” Rose said. “No groaning of the soon to be deceased.”

Dave nodded. “It’s better than a regular hospital, honestly. They already know what’s up with the superhero biz. Lowkey, I was surprised that the doctor knew what to do since we’re not exactly...y’know.”

“Yes,” Rose sighed. “I know.”

They sat quietly. Someone had put on the television, but nobody was really watching. Jade shifted, mumbling something in her sleep, her brow furrowing. Dave rubbed her softly, and she relaxed.

“What happened to those two?” Rose asked.

“Doctors drugged their drinks,” Dave stated. “Jade was already flipping shit, and John was helping her, so the doctor was like ‘yeah no, I’m not dealing with this’, offered them both a glass of water. They were out like a light.”

They sat in silence again. Rose counted the holes in the ceiling tiles, a very interesting business. However, she grew bored of this interesting business, and turned her attention towards Dave. He looked the same as before, only quiet tears trailed down his face. She watched him for a few moments, before asking “Are you ok?”

Dave jumped, startled. “What?”

When he processed what Rose asked him, he nodded, and sat up in his chair, wiping at his face. “I thought you were asleep. Yeah, I’m cool.”

Rose rolled her eyes, and then winced in pain. Sadly, obnoxious eye movements would have to be restricted for now. “Dave, don’t fucking _think_ about lying to me,” she huffed. “I’ve been stabbed, not blinded."

“No, I’m not lying to you,” Dave said. “I’m as chill as ever. Like a couple of penguins in the Arctic eating a shitton of ice. Chilling, that’s me.”

 

That was Strider-speak for “I’m fucking losing it like a bar of soap in a steamy shower.”

 

“Okay, assume I believe you and your baldfaced lies,” Rose said. “In the theoretical case that you _were_ to be flipping your shit like a hotcake on an over greased griddle, is there any particular reason that you can find to explain it?" 

Dave shrugged. “In this imaginary case, maybe the completely fake reason I’d be freaking out is that I just saw one of my friends die. But other than that, I can’t think of anything else to explain that _totally_ fake scenario.”

“Are you sure?” Rose tutted. “There’s nothing else that would’ve been hypothetically afoot?”

“Nope,” Dave answered. “No other abstract reasons I can think of. I mean, if I _were_ to be losing it, I’d probably be hovering over you like a damn hummingbird.”

Rose gagged. “Dave, _please.”_

“No, I’m being super real right now,” he said. “Like, you can’t stop me from fretting around you like some kinda old nurse or whatever. All types of judgmental huffing or whatever as I try to change your tubes, like you should’ve known better than to get run over by that semi-truck, because here I am changing your nasty-ass breathing tubes, should’ve looked both ways before crossing the street, and maybe you should’ve just done everyone a favor and died right there on the spot…”

He kept rambling, still cool, still collected, as much as he let himself. His dry voice echoed in the room softly as he kept spiraling downwards. His very obvious plea for help in the increasingly obscure comparisons between roadkill and feeding tubes worried Rose to some extent, but she didn’t interrupt, instead letting himself rant until he couldn’t come up with any more half-baked metaphors.

Finally, he stopped, or moreso abruptly cut himself off once he realized what he was doing. He breathed in deeply, slowly exhaling to calm himself down. His eyes were still unfocused, hands and legs still a jittery mess of nerves, or at least as much of a mess that he would let them be, considering they’d be oddly still on anybody else. His glasses glinted in the stale fluorescent light that hung over her bed, burning holes into her retinas.

“Sorry about that,” Dave apologized. “Didn’t mean to do whatever the fuck that was.”

Rose shrugged, brushing it off. “It’s really no problem. You obviously had some things to get off your chest, I simply gave you an excuse to do so.”

“It sounded like you were just poking at me to get a reaction,” he replied. “Like, do you really think I didn’t notice your super obvious attempt to get me to open up?”

“Tomato, tomahto, what’s the difference?” Rose countered. She stretched upwards, yawning “If it helps, I was doing my best not to interrupt with my own observations.”

Dave raised an eyebrow. “What kind of observations are we talking about here? Like, are you trying to compare whether or not Frank the possum was an allegory for dicks or what?”

“Wouldn’t you like to find out.”

* * *

 When she woke up after unknowingly going to sleep, it was daytime. Annoyingly bright daytime. Rose wasn’t sure if she preferred the fluorescent lights or the natural sunlight sizzling her corneas. 

She blinked blearily, trying to get the sleep and other things out her eyes. Definitely preferred the sunlight.

Jade was awake from her sedative induced sleep. Nervously she watched Rose, biting her nails. Rose acknowledged her presence by waving slightly, not feeling wide awake enough to attempt a smile.

She removed her hand from her mouth. “How’d you know to come last night? It wasn’t time for your shift yet.”

“Aspect,” Rose answered. “It wouldn’t let me rest, so I decided to shut it up and check in on you both.”

“Then I’m glad that I managed to convince you that you unlocked your aspect,” Jade said, smiling wryly. “Ten points for the scientific method.”

“Mmmm, I’m still holding out for spider manipulation,” Rose replied lightly. “You never know, I did almost manage to convince a spider to leave my apartment a few days ago.”

Jade rolled her eyes. “Stop trying to make spiders happen. It isn’t gonna happen.”

They fell into a slightly awkward silence. Jade wasn’t as chatty as she normally was, and she avoided looking at Rose as much as she could, preferring to look at the tasteful paintings behind her head. Every time Rose managed to catch her eye, it was filled with something sorrowful before it flitted away to examine something else that wasn’t her.

“Where’d Dave go?” Rose asked, trying to break the silence.

Jade shrugged, taking her glasses off to clean them. “Dunno. As soon as I woke up, he mumbled something about food and vanished. He’s been gone for awhile now.”

“Damn,” Rose said, snapping her fingers in disappointment. “And here I was thinking that we’d get an actual conversation going.”

“Is this your attempt at being direct?” Jade asked drily. “Because if it is, you’re not very good at it.”

“I’m doing the best I can,” Rose answered. “I do really want to just talk.”

“What’s there to talk about?” Jade questioned, almost like she was challenging Rose to come up with something.

Rose pushed her bangs away from her eyes. “About you, mostly. How are you holding up?”

“I’m fine,” Jade said nonchalantly, fiddling with her shirttail and yet again avoiding Rose’s gaze. “Whatever I’m feeling isn’t super important. What about you?”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Stop directing the conversation back towards be, I want to know how _you_ are doing. You talk about being direct, and yet you’re being evasive.”

“Well, maybe I don’t want to talk about it,” Jade said, just a tad snappish. “Maybe I just really would rather talk about literally anything else _but_ my feelings.”

“Jade, it’s has to happen at some point,” Rose said. “We can’t pretend like _this_ never happened, we have to acknowledge it and move on.”

Jade sighed. “I know that. I just… _don’t._ Can we drop this?”

“I suppose,” Rose relented. She didn't want to push Jade too hard, lest she accidentally cause Jade to start pushing away. 

They sat in more awkward than before silence, the nurse coming in every once in awhile.

Rose puffed her cheeks.

Jade sighed, and cleaned her glasses with her shirt.

Rose drummed her fingers.

Jade stared out the window.

Neither spoke.

 

Personally, Rose wanted things to go back to the way they were before.

 

Dave emerged from the hallway, holding a large paper bag. “Sup y’all,” he said, breaking the unnerving quiet. “I’ve got vittles.”

At the sight of the grocery bag, Rose raised an eyebrow. “Dave, did you _just_ go shopping?”

He nodded. “I did,” he said, dropping the bag on the table.

“But we just went grocery shopping yesterday,” Rose stated.

“More than half of that was junk food and sugar,” Dave replied. “I think the nurse would’ve tackled me if I tried to bring that in.”

“So why wouldn’t you just raid John’s refrigerator?” Rose asked. “I’m sure he managed to hit more than one food group in our trip. Hell, I don’t think he picked up _anything_ that could be classified as ‘instant’.”

“And that’s why I went to Dierbergs instead,” Dave answered. “I like you and all, but there’s no way in hell I’m making you home cooked meal 8:30 in the morning.”

“Thanks for your efforts, Dave. What would I do without you?” Rose remarked sarcastically.

“First, you’d be stuck with jello and mashed potatoes, and you don’t strike me as a jello kind of person,” he said.

“But I _do_ like potatoes."

“Well then,” Dave said, ripping the top off of a container holding potato salad. “Good thing I brought some.”

He passed around plates, and shook John awake. They sat around for awhile, talking about anything and everything until they were shooed out by the nurse.

The next couple of days were as boring as watching paint dry while it was continuously and methodically being slathered on by a geometry professor who was re-reviewing the unit that you covered in the first week of school.

 

Read: So boring that Rose would’ve gouged her eyes out with a plastic spork if she wasn’t constantly be spied upon by her watchdog of a nurse.

 

To prevent that from happening, considering Rose actually liked her eyes, her friends took hourly shifts to spend time watch her. She almost had to force this upon them, considering that they started to hover after the first day, asking if Rose needed any water, her pillows fluffed, her bed raised, whatever. Their brand of love annoyed her to no end, because after all, being bedridden didn’t mean she was _entirely_ helpless dammit, she can adjust her pillows by her own damn self.

Besides the hourly shifts, most everybody came in at least once. Her friends came in multiple times a day. Julie managed to break away from her mysterious meetings to video-call a couple of times. Even Sarah the secretary came up to see Rose once on her lunch-break (Rose wasn’t sure how much Sarah knew about the whole hero business, but she guessed Sarah knew enough to visit).

Her mother come in twice, both times bearing gifts and love, generally gross, but Rose was getting acclimated, if by acclimated you mean by after ten years of living in the Arctic, a 2 degree day might be kind of warm to you.

Jacob came in exactly once.

“Hello Rose,” he greeted, carefully sitting down on the edge of the arm chair. “How are you feeling?”

Rose shrugged. “Frankly, I feel like I’m under house arrest. I haven’t escaped yet because the nurse continues to take away all of my plans before they’re finished.”

Jacob chuckled lightly. “It’s doctor’s orders that you stay in bed, and it isn’t my fault the nurse is so vigilant.”

“Maybe _too_ vigilant,” Rose replied. “She nearly tackled me when she found me in the hallway getting something to eat. _Not_ very hospitable.”

Jacob shrugged. “It’s what we pay her for.” He crossed his legs, saying “You know what I’m here for, correct?”

Rose nodded. “Yes, I’m well aware. I’ve ordered too many furniture catalogs, and now the lobby is absolutely flooded with Pottery Barn magazines,” she said, dodging what Jacob was really implying. “I’m sorry, I’ll try to keep my furniture collection in check.”

He gave her a warning look. “Rose…”

She rolled her eyes, groaning. “You’re upset because I didn’t tell you about my aspect coming in,” she grumbled.

Jacob shook his head. “I could care less about that. No, what I’m truly upset about is that you saw visions of Jade dying and didn’t attempt to make any contact about the issue with me whatsoever.”

“Is it my fault that I thought that I was having a series of suspiciously similar nightmares resulting from stress?” Rose asked. “Really, Jade had only proved that my powers came in that very day.”

“And then what?” Jacob asked, slightly frustrated. “You took matters into your own hands?”

“Of course,” Rose said. “What else was I supposed to do? It certainly wasn’t like I could go to the police and explain the whole situation.”

“You could’ve come to me,” Jacob said. “I’m never more than a few floors away.”  

“You would’ve made it _worse,”_ Rose pointed out. “Trust me, I knew what I was doing.”

“Yes, you knew enough to get you killed,” Jacob said, slightly irritable. “If you had come to me, and explained the situation fully, do you truly believe that I wouldn’t have listened?”

Rose pursed her lips. “There was a 65% chance that that you wouldn’t have, so no, I don’t believe that you would’ve.”

“So the other 35 percent gets thrown out the window.” Jacob rubbed his temples tiredly, groaning in frustration. He didn’t speak for awhile.

Finally, he sighed. “Rose, please don’t think I’m not truly thankful that you saved my beloved granddaughters life. It’s just that you did it at _your_ expense, when we could’ve worked together to save her. Do you know how harrowing it was to be shaken awake, learning that your granddaughter just survived an assassination attempt, only to learn that the girl you’ve come to think of as another granddaughter died to save her? It was a miracle that we managed to get to you in time.”

Rose shrugged. “If it helps, I was okay with dying.”

“It really doesn’t.” He stood, but he didn’t leave just yet, instead sticking his hands in his pocket. “I appreciate your efforts, but perhaps next time, you inform me about situations such as these? I don’t want to be left in the dark when I could’ve been of assistance. Even if there’s only a small chance I would listen, do try it anyways”

Rose nodded. “Of course. I’ll just take comfort in the fact that I’ll sabotage your efforts if you refuse to listen.”

Jacob chuckled at her response, making his way to the door.  Before he was fully there, he stopped and turned towards her.

“Your tip about the intern was useful,” he informed her. “He wasn’t actually an intern, just someone young enough to look like one and sneak in.”

“So what happened?” Rose asked.

“I’ll explain the rest, later, but congratulations,” Jacob said, finally walking out. “You’ve just had your first brush with the Felt.”

* * *

 After Jacob’s visit, she was released from the infirmary (she had a feeling it was on his orders, based by the nurse’s glower). Her stitching was still a bit sore, but she was mostly healed, and Rose was free.

She transportalized back into her room, and found that everything was cleaned (not like there was much to begin with, but there were considerably less amounts of dust). There was a still warm cake sitting on the kitchenette counter, courtesy of John and his baking prowess.

She also found a crate of her belongings sitting on the middle of her bed. A note lied on top of the crates, covered in pink, curly script that she immediately recognized. Almost instinctively, she started to ball it up, not wanting to deal with her mother at the moment. 

But, at the last moment, she decided to read it.

 

_ im sorry i couldnt come and see you more honey bunches! the two times i did make it down i actually had to sneak out on my lunch hour (theres been a MAJOR breakthrough in the labs and the harleys are being hardasses. i love em, but phew!) so to make it up to you i dropped these off. again, super DUPER sorry that we didnt talk more!!! _

_ love, mom-londe.  _

_ (P.S: maybe after this problem at work is over we can catch up! hows that sound?) _

 

Rose sat down immediately, wielding her trademark purple pen, ready to ink out a response to this _obviously_ passive aggressive note.

But, she paused. Something inside of her told her that the chance that this was a passive aggressive move by her mother was highly unlikely. Initially, she wanted to ignore it, wanting very badly to retaliate, but her cursed common sense soon got the best of her. Slowly, she crumpled the intricate stationary she pulled out. She replaced the pen back in the flowery cup her mother belovedly bought for her on her eighth birthday. Glancing at the crate resting on her bed, she sighed.

She had a lot of work to do. 

* * *

 After everything had been decorated up to Rose’s standards, she grabbed the cake still resting on the counter.

Even though Jade had John and Dave, Rose was pretty sure Jade holed herself up in her lab to console herself Rose’s situation. Things were mostly back on track between her and Jade, but she had a feeling that they wouldn’t be quite the same anymore, considering they now knew the lengths they’d be willing to go for each other.

Rose wasn’t sure if it was a good or a bad thing, considering the knowledge that your best friend would die for you is something you can’t really do much with.

Anyways, it had been awhile since Rose had some real one on one time with Jade without anybody interfering. She had undoubtedly missed out on quite a lot the past five days, and she was definitely in the mood to gossip about anything and everything. Sharing drama with your best friend over delightfully wonderful cake certainly is one of the best ways to bond, after all. It was possible that she could do some extra research on the Felt afterwards, simply because she was curious and not searching for any possible weak-points.

Sadly, her plans for her hangout time were dashed to pieces when Jacob appeared on the video communication channel, asking everyone to come down for the meeting that was _definitely_ slotted for today, and yes Dave, I see you slinking off screen come back here this instant.

Groaning in annoyance when the screen shut off, she stuck the cake in the oven to keep it warm, and transportalized up to the conference floor. Leave it to Harley to break up her plans.

She was inside the conference room before she knew it. Nobody else was there, as she was earl, thus ruining her chances at a fashionably late entrance. Maybe some other time. 

Instead, she took a seat, drumming her fingers on the wooden table. The office floors were still as soul-sucking as the first fateful day when Rose learned of her genetically predisposed destiny. The grey carpeting slowly ebbed away at her conscious, and she feared that if she was left alone for too long, she’d start talking about stocks and bonds and her golf trip down in Key Largo. She doesn’t even _like_ golf.

She stood by the window, hands behind her back as she surveyed the scene. The sun wasn’t up quite just yet, but she could already see the heat waves radiating off the buildings. The few people who were outside already looked like they were slowly melting, and it was only a matter of time before they ended up a sordid puddle on the sidewalk, inconveniencing anyone who managed to step in them.

Rose thought about the sheer amount of meetings Jacob held. While there had been a slight decline, he still managed to group up with them at least once a week. Before Rose even came to live in Harley Labs, he managed to hold at least five a week. She would’ve thought that he ran out of things to talk about by the time the second week came around, but he was still bursting with topics. She held an appreciation for it. After all, it had to be difficult to come up with intriguing things to discuss, especially when you’re dealing with teenagers with short attention spans. If Jacob had somehow become disgraced in the scientific world, he could probably become an eccentric english professor, provided he gave up his war against classic writers.

Surprisingly, Julie never actually showed up to any of his meetings. Rose thought it was odd, considering she was invested in the taskforce as well. However, she apparently had other things to deal with around the world, and left Jacob to hold down the fort.

Eventually, before the cubicles could begin to sway Rose towards the dark side of crunching numbers, John showed up with Jade and Dave in tow.

“Sorry we’re late!” he said cheerfully. “Jade finally crashed, and it took _forever_ to wake her up.”

Jade rolled her eyes. “Hey, it’s not _my_ fault I pulled some all nighters. Someone should watch me!”

“I'm the one who monitors you,” Rose reminded her. “However, I’ve been out of commission, so I put you two-” she eyed John and Dave “-in charge of making sure she doesn’t thrive on coffee. Obviously, you _both_ failed, so I’m holding both of you responsible,” she mockingly scolded, wagging her finger. “I’m very disappointed in you all.”

“Sure, you say that now, but where were you when she was snarling like a deranged cat dying of rabies when we tried to pry her out of her lab?” Dave grumbled. “She was _literally_ hissing, dude.”

“Puh- _lease_. Most of that was just for show,” Rose scoffed. “Maybe if you guys thought of bringing up Bec, she would’ve gone to bed _much_ earlier.”

John smacked his forehead in frustration. “Bec!” he cried. “How could we have forgotten Bec?”

“I dunno about you, but I forgot everything but my basic survival skills,” Dave said. “All I could feel was the primal, animalistic-like instincts in me to run-”

“And you did,” John interjected angrily. “You ran, and left me all by myself with a half-crazed, snarling girl. I almost _died.”_

“Well maybe if you weren’t so indoctrinated into suburbia, but instead grew up in the hood like I did, you would’ve ran too,” Dave replied cooly.

“THAT DOESN’T MAKE ANY SENSE! YOU LIVED NEXT DOOR TO ME FOR THIRTEEN YEARS!” John shouted, slamming his hand on the table.

“And this seems to be the perfect time to intervene!” Jacob announced, kicking in the door. “Hello everyone!” He took his seat down at the head of the table, and pushed a few buttons on his keyboard, summoning the holographic computers in front of everyone.

“Everyone in high spirits?” he asked.

John nodded, glaring at Dave. “I’m pretty sure our spirits are the _highest_ , Mr. Harley.”

Jacob clapped his hands together. “Fantastic!” He steepled his hands, gazing over his glasses at everyone seriously. A somber mood fell over the room as he stared.

“Everybody is well aware of what happened a few nights ago, correct?” 

Not waiting for an answer, he continued, all the while tapping on his keypad. “I haven’t exactly been forthright with you all,” he said. “There are some things I’ve kept hidden for your own safety.” 

“Like what?” John asked nervously.

“For starters, this.” A larger hologram was projected in the middle of table.Several photographs shimmered into place, rotating in a circle slowly. Some of the photos only had a question mark, and while all the photos had name plates, not all of the plates were labeled.

“This is the Felt,” Jacob stated. “They’re the most notorious criminal group known to man, armed to the teeth, as if having the aspect gene isn’t enough. This is what you all are up against.”

John blinked, looking confused. “But I thought the Felt disbanded decades ago?”

Jacob shook his head sadly. “They haven’t been dead, just dormant.”

Dave swiped through the mugshots idly. “So why are we fighting a _sleeping_ criminal network? Waking the beast seems pretty dumb, just saying.”

“They haven’t been sleeping, just dormant,” Jacob explained. “There’s a difference. The Felt have been moving underground for years, but have only started to come out of hiding now. No doubt there will be more attacks in the future.”

“Then we should be mobilizing,” Rose offered. “There certainly isn’t a point in waiting for the Felt to come and attack.” 

"I was thinking that, but I have been advised that mobilizing isn't the wisest move," Jacob said. "Instead, we're going to continue forward, but we will need to adopt alias-" 

Dave interrupted. “Wait, what do you mean adopting an alias? Are you saying that these felt guys know who we are?”

“The attempt on Jade wasn’t just some random hit,” Jacob explained. “This was because they know about your aspects, and they wanted to take you out while you’re still weak.”

“How long have they known about us?” Rose asked.

“They’ve known for quite awhile.”

“So why did it take them such a long time to make a move?” Rose questioned. “Why would they attack _just_ when we’re getting our aspects.”

Jacob sighed. “I honestly don’t know. I suspect the added protection of your guardians might be the reason why they haven’t tried to attack, considering your guardians are very experienced, but it’s only a theory.”

“Do you know why they would attack while we were here?” John asked. “I mean, isn’t this place super safe? The first time I came in, I practically had to strip down to my underwear before I could step inside.”

“You’re right John, this place is normally very safe,” Jacob agreed. “However, they found a crack to slide into during the moving process.” With a swipe of his hand, he brought up the footage of the day they first moved in. When they all walked into the building, he paused, and zoomed in on the intern, struggling to push the luggage rack.

“This intern is in fact not an intern,” Jacob informed them. “His codename is Clover, but his intern name is fake and nobody is quite sure what his real name is. He managed to infiltrate our building when you all officially moved in.”

“But he left the building after he dropped the luggage off in my room,” Jade pointed out. “I know because I saw him leave!”

Jacob nodded. “He might’ve left, but he didn’t truly leave. When we did a security sweep in your room,  we found that one of the luggage bags wasn’t actually one of ours, but contained a one-way trans-location device. If I remember correctly, I believe it was one of Dave’s bags.”

“Bruh,” Dave said under his breath. “That explains why I couldn’t find my fucking posters.”

“That explains why I couldn’t move it,” Jade said. “The grounding device in the trans-locator must’ve anchored it to the ground, making it impossible to move!” She groaned in frustration, saying “If they weren’t the enemy, I’d be congratulating them on a job well done!”

Rose patted her on the back comfortingly. “It’d would’ve been a clean hit. I recognized the gun he had was your favorite model, so I'm betting there's a high chance a note was left somewhere."

“It was on her desk, in her own handwriting,” Jacob affirmed.

John ran a hand through his hair depressedly. “So we’re dealing with professionals who won’t hesitate to put a hit on us. Great.”

“You can leave,” Jacob informed them. “There’s nothing keeping you here, this is 100 percent voluntary.”

“Who said I’m leaving?” John said. “I wanna get those bastards before they make another move against us.”

“I wanna get them too, but it’s more likely that they’ll get _us,”_ Dave pointed out. “I mean, we don’t have any training, we don’t have powers, and they’re professionals who hate our guts.”

“I’ve dealt with professionals,” Jade said. “And one of us has powers, and Dave, you know swords and I know guns. We’re almost halfway there.”

“I think what Dave is saying is that these guys have actual experience,” Rose explained. “You both of training in theory, and so far, my powers aren’t offensive.”

Jade leaned in close to her grandfather. "I think you should leave," she whispered. He nodded in agreement, and stepped out quietly, nobody really paying him much attention.

Once the door had finally swung shut, Jade rubbed her hands excitedly. "Now that he's outta here, I'm gonna give you all the lowdown."

John raised an eyebrow. "The lowdown?"

Jade nodded. "I know that man like the back of my hand. There's a reason for everything he does, and while Rose likes to think she's the only expert on people, I'm the only expert on Grandpa."

Rose nodded. "She's been able to provide insight on his odd behaviors for years now. I doubt anybody  _but_ her could decipher his activity."

Dave propped his feet on the table. "So can you decipher why we're just now learning about the Felt? After all, it seems like that was pretty  _vital_ information."

"He wanted to keep us safe," Jade said. "It's standard in the labs that newbie scientists are told next to nothing, just in case they get kidnapped and tortured for information by rival companies, and he's doing the same thing here. It's almost like if we don't know anything, then what's the point of the Felt coming along and taking us? That way he can have a bit more time to get everything in place."

Leaning in close, she whispered "Don't you all think it's fishy we haven't started training?"

John nodded. "I was wondering when we would've started, y'know, kicking and punching things. We can't wait for our aspects for forever!"

"Exactly!" Jade agreed. "Plus, in the labs even the _labhands_  were trained in combat when they were recruited, and they're useless! So, since Grandpa feels super duper guilty about keeping things a secret, and how we had to deal with things on our own, he's gonna start training today. Once he thinks we can defend ourselves, he'll start telling us more and more. And plus, since the Felt already made a move against us, it's likely that we'll start learning things at an even faster rate, since he'll be afraid that we won't be _mentally_ prepared to fight them. So really, all we have to do is stick around for a few days and he'll start vomiting information faster than you can say quark!"

After her spiel, Jade sat back in her chair, and crossed her arms, clearly pleased with herself.

"Daaaaamn," Dave said, clearly impressed. "You read him like it was some Hooked on Phonics type shit. Quick, is there a way to get him to give me money?"

Jade rolled her eyes. "I'm not gonna give you ways to soft-hack my grandpa." 

"So, are we staying as a group?" John asked hopefully. "We're not splitting?"

"Not after  _that_ performance," Dave said. "I wanna stick around, just to see if she's right."

"Considering I've learned not to doubt Jade, I'm staying too," Rose answered. "Although, just to make it clear, I wasn't intending on leaving in the first place."

“I guess I’ll go and tell Mr. Harley,” John said excitedly, getting up. He opened the door, conveying the group's decision. Out in the hall, there was joyful clapping, and John was lifted in a bearhug.

Jacob’s eyes glittered with pride and possibly tears as he came back in. “You lot are the bravest young’uns I’ve had the pleasure to meet.” He wiped at his eyes, and sniffed. “So now, if you could please follow Neytiri, she will lead you to the training grounds.”

He sniffled once more. “Excuse me, I need a moment.” He turned from them, and the teenagers filed out of the room awkwardly to leave the grown man to cry in peace.

"See?" Jade said. "Like the back of my hand."

A hologram of Neytiri appeared in front of them, but Rose couldn’t exactly tell where exactly it was being projected from. Probably one of the newer inventions of Harley Labs.

“Please follow me in a calm and orderly fashion,” Neytiri commanded. She pushed open the door to the stairwell, and gestured for them to go down.

“Wait, we’re not using the transportalizer?” Jade asked, surprised. “We always use the transportalizer!”

“Yes, Jade, you may use the transportalizer for your everyday life, but training grounds has no use for a transportalizer, and thus, has none. You will find out why soon enough.” Neytiri turned on her heel.

Dave nudged Rose. “Couldn’t we like, just transportalizer close enough to these grounds and hoof it the rest of the way?” he whispered.

Rose shrugged. “You tell that to the hologram.”

Dave grimaced. “I think I’m good.”

They followed Neytiri down the _long_ 34 flights of stairs. Rose never cursed this building more than she did now. Why did it have to be so _fucking tall?!_

Around the one of the flights that Rose was beginning to lose track of in her sweaty haze, John had asked if they could take a break.

“Cuz, y’know...” John panted. “I’m not a robot, and I dunno about you, but I’m not able to go down a bajillion flights in one go. I think I got asthma or something-”

“John, please be precise,” Neytiri interrupted harshly. “I am not a robot, and there is not a ‘bajillion’ flights, as you so eloquently stated, there are thirty four. We are not taking a break.” She kept walking down the stairs spitefully, not looking back.

Jade gave Rose a look that said “I am going to kill this robot while it sleeps”, which Rose reciprocated. It wasn’t like the AI had an idea of what exhaustion felt like, because programming artificial intelligence with the ability to feel exhaustion would’ve been dumb, and dumb ideas have no place in artificial intelligence.

John stooped over, wheezing, trying to catch his breath before following the rest of the group.

They emerged from the bottom of the stairs and into the lobby sweaty and out of breath, and the old secretary at the desk did her best to ignore them.

Neytiri walked briskly away from the line of sight of secretary into a secret corner of the lobby, and Rose recognized it as a secret crevice the her and Jade used to hide in when they were younger.  Neytiri stood in front of the wall, unblinking for the longest time.

Dave nudged John. “Yo, do you think she’s broken?” he muttered, gesturing towards the holographic assistant.

Just then, the a small camera emerged and a light green ray scanned the group. Rose noticed the rays scanned over Neytiri as well, even though she wasn’t exactly solid.

“Identity confirmed,” it said. “Beta's 1 through 4 and Neytiri accounted for.” The camera retreated, and the wall lifted...

 

To reveal another flight of stairs. The group groaned collectively, already having flashbacks to the last flights of stairs.

 

“Follow me!” Neytiri snapped, already halfway down the stairs. They hesitated to follow her, considering mutiny instead, but then Jade sighed and jogged after Neytiri down the dark stairs, the rest followed suit.  

At the bottom, there was a door with a lime green house split into five different squares. The AI placed her hand on the smallest square, and motioned for the others to do the same on the four other squares. Slowly, they did as she gestured, waiting.

The door hummed for a second, registering the gangs handprints. It glowed briefly, and Rose heard a click, and Neytiri opened the door to reveal the training grounds.

The grounds was as large as a football field, but it was rather plain. The room was painted black and white, almost like a checker board that didn’t just want stay on the floor. On one side of the room, there was a one-way mirror, but if Rose squinted enough, she could see a few blinking control panels inside. There was 4 doors to the right of Rose, but instead of doorknobs, there were handprint scanners. There was also a curious line that indicated a divide in floor, but Rose couldn’t guess for the life of her what it could possibly be for.

Neytiri, having fulfilled her purpose, promptly disappeared, and the group was left without knowing quite what to do. They were quiet for a few moments, still trying to process everything around them.

“Neytiri wasn’t like that in the movie at _all!”_ John cried out. “Who designed her!”

Jade shrugged. “All I know is that Grandpa saw the first few minutes of the Avatar movie and disappeared. The next morning, she was there! I think he gave her the wrong intelligence though.”

“He _definitely_ gave her the wrong intelligence,” John muttered, setting off the explore the one-way window.

Dave, hands in his pockets, kicked one of the doors. “It’s locked,” he announced.

Rose rolled her eyes. “No shit, Sherlock. Did you try the handprint scanner?”

Dave pulled one of his hands out his pockets, placing it on the scanner. It beeped angrily, flashing red at him like it couldn’t believe that he _dared_ to put his hand on it.

“Well, that did absolute shit,” Dave said. “Thanks for your ingenious advice, what would we do without you.”

Rose pushed past Dave. “You’re doing it wrong,” she scolded, and slammed her hand on hand reader, staring him down. However, the handprint reader just flashed red and chirped at her as well. She was sure she heard some sort of threat in the chirping. 

Dave smirked, and Rose flipped him off.

“Maybe I can try!” Jade offered. “After all, you probably need to be authorized, and I’m authorized everywhere!”

It didn’t work. Jade removed her hand and stared at it in bewilderment. “I’ve never felt more betrayed in my life,” she whispered, scandalized.

Bored with squinting into the one-way window, John came over. “What’s all the fuss about?”

“We can’t get in,” Jade explained, pointing to the doors. “None of us are authorized, including _myself.”_

“Oh. Well, have you tried kicking down the door?” he asked matter-of-factly.

“Already tried that,” Dave piped up.

“Maybe you didn’t try hard enough!” John said, grinning and waggling his eyebrows mischievously. He backed up, and motioned for the others to get out of the way.

“You sure you wanna do it John?” Dave asked, stepping a few feet away. “The door seemed pretty solid to me,”

John scoffed. “Pssh. How hard could it possibly be?”

An intercom crackled, and Rose covered her ears from the resounding blast of feedback. When the feedback ceased, Jacob Harley’s voice emerged clearly.

“I wouldn’t try that Johnny boy!” he announced. “That door’s made of solid steel! You’d be more likely to break every bone in your foot then make a dent in that thing!”

John stopped suddenly, slightly paling. “Oh,” he whispered softly, life flashing before his eyes.

“Anyways, don’t bother trying to get in just yet!” Jacob continued. “You’d need your aspect to be unlocked, and so far only Rose has done that!"

Rose pursed her lips. "Not to contradict you, but the doors haven't exactly worked for me."

"If anything, you probably tried to open the wrong door," Jacob offered. "For now, my lovely assistant Neytiri and I are the only one’s who can open that door.” On cue, the doors slid open to reveal color coordinated rooms.

“I’ve already had the pleasure of assigning a locker room to each of you, so please, scurry along. I’ve got more instructions for you on the inside.”  The handprint scanners flashed with various names, and Rose found her locker room and entered, door sliding in with a soft click behind her.  

Once inside, Rose was surprised at how _orange_ everything was. It was almost like she had walked into...well...

 

An actual orange.

 

The walls were dark orange, accompanied by blood orange drapes. There was a small, orange couch with lovely tangerine pillows on the right of the room, and a small rectangular coffee table in front of it. The bright yellow carpet tied the room together. Honestly, it looked more like a break room than a locker room, and admittedly, Jacob had _some_ taste.

On the wall across from the entrance, there was a large sun painted onto the wall, but the depiction wasn’t like a normal sun. She pulled back the drapes slightly, peeking into the other rooms to compare, but neither John nor Dave had a sun, but some squiggles and a gear. Their rooms were identical however, except in color schemes.

A blinking thing on the coffee table caught her eye, and she replaced the drape to investigate. Picking it up, she turned it around in her hands, inspecting it. It looked like an earpiece, but she wasn’t quite sure.

Well, only one way to find out. She fastened it in her ear carefully, almost surprised when it fit perfectly.

“You have 1 unread message,” Neytiri chirped suddenly. “Would you like to play it?”

Rose’s heart leapt into her throat, and she whirled around, looking for the AI, but finding none. Quickly, she realized that her voice might’ve come from her earpiece, and she answered carefully “Yes, play the message.”

Jacob’s voice rang softly. “Hello Rose! As you can probably tell, this is a pre-recorded message, just so we can save time. I've some important things to tell you, considering you unlocked your powers first."

There was a pause, and the crinkling of paper, probably there so he wouldn't forget what he was talking about and go off on a tangent, most likely about wild boars. 

"Firstly, you have a title that corresponds with your aspect and how it's utilized. The boys down in the labs have theories on what powers your friends will receive, and so far, they've been right. Your title is the Seer of Light. If you have any questions about what it means, please don't hesitate to ask. Well, not like you would hesitate, but I have to stick to the script!" 

"Anyways, what I need you to do is approach the wall with the sun. Behind the wall holds your training armor. For now it’s the bare bones, but as you progress in your powers, your armor will be personalized to accommodate you. That’s all for now, and see you soon!”

The message ended and Rose stepped forward. As if the wall knew she was there, a probe poked out the wall slightly, scanning her. With an affirming beep, the sun glowed, and the wall lifted. Behind it was white, lightweight armor next to deep orange bodysuit. The armor had orange accents here and there, with a large sun not unlike the one on her wall emblazoned on the chest. A light blue headband, identical to the one she wore now, rested above a pair of light blue boots. 

Rose thought it was a bold and interesting outfit. Simple, but not like it was trying to hard to be simple. She liked it well enough.

Putting her training suit, it was more comfortable than Rose thought it would be, and she applauded whoever made it. It wasn’t chafing, but it conformed to her body. There was definitely more padding than she originally thought, and Rose wondered how vigorous the training would be. Hopefully not _too_ intense, because she and Jacob both knew she got a C in gym class. If he was trying to make her into a grade-A Olympian, he had another thing coming. 

Carefully, she replaced her current headband with the training suit. As soon as it was secure on her head, there were sounds of something shimmery as a helmet materialized around her head, and a screen flickered to life in her visor. Statistics and numbers charted something in the corner of her vision, and an estimation of her vitals were in another. Her comm synced with her helmet, and her friend's names flickered to life in the lower right-hand corner, although they were greyed out, as they probably hadn't connected with her yet.

After a final inspection of her room, she left for the training grounds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> imagine the sheer amount of catalogs jacob must have. he's had to order a bunch of color coordinated furniture, and now his employees are worried for him. where does the furniture go. why does he have so many in extremely specific colors. they've already considered an intervention.
> 
> also, training! thus begins all the plot related shit that i have been steadfastly avoiding like the plague. i might have to go on a short hiatus (like maybe a week or two) after the next chapter, but then everything should be all nice and dandy and not terrible at all


	8. training montage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **training:**  
>  _noun_ |train·ing|ˈtrā-niŋ  
> definition: the act, process, or method of one that trains

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hot dog a new chapter! sorry for missing the last update day, and sorry for just posting this now! i've been a bit tired lately with thanksgiving and all, but i'm much more energized now! enjoy!
> 
> edit: this has been rewritten!

John and Jade were already outside, talking and laughing while stretching. They both wore suits identical to Rose, but Jade had a deep grey bodysuit with red sparkly boots, and John had a dark blue body suit with yellow boots. His symbol that Rose spotted in his room was slapped on his chest, and a white spirograph was on Jade’s chest. If Rose looked close enough, she could see numbers floating in their glasses.

“Damn Rose, how long does it take for you to get dressed!” John teased, waving her over. “An hour?”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Shut up, you were barely out before me.” She had a speak a little louder than normal as her helmet muffled her voice, an

She sat down next to them, joining in on their stretching. Not surprisingly, her light aspect or whatever Jacob had called it had warned her that there was a high chance of a painfully pulled muscle if she didn’t stretch.

“Do you see these awesome costumes!” Jade squealed. “This are just our _training_ armor, and I already feel so badass!”

“I do too,” John agreed. “I feel like I could kick the Felt’s ass right here, right now.”

Rose laughed lightly. “Save your asskicking for later, I have a feeling you’re going to need it.”

“Rose, I never knew you’d look so nice in orange,” Jade fawned. “After all, I’ve never seen you wear anything but black and purple. There was that one year where you wore only-.” She was conveniently interrupted when Rose leaned far to the right to stretch her sides and had accidentally on purpose covered her mouth with her hand.

Jade pushed Rose’s hand away and glared. “Was that really necessary?”

“I’m sorry, but we have others around us,” Rose answered sweetly. “The only people who are allowed to know about that year are you, me, and Bec. If word were to get out, then some unflattering photos might find themselves being taped up on the refrigerators-”

“Yes, okay, I get what you mean!” Jade cried, cutting her off. “There’s no need to bring it up!”

John pulled on his arm lightly, stretching it. “I think maybe I should leave.”

“Yes, please do," Rose replied, reaching for her toes. "This is private business you can't know of yet."

John gasped deeply in mock hurt. “Rose, you wound me,” he said, hand flying to his chest.

Jade shrugged. “Every rose has it’s thorns. Rose just has an extra amount of thorns.”

Dave finally stepped out of his room. His armor was almost entirely red, and only his boots were black.

John immediately pounced on him, eager for the kill. “Rose, forget what I said about you, this guy took _forever!”_ he hollered, draping an arm around Dave’s shoulders.

“Man, fuck you too,” Dave muttered, ducking under his arms.

She patted him comfortingly, and said “John seems to have a lot of thorns too.”

Before Dave could question what the hell Jade was talking about, Jacob's name flickered onto her visor, and his voice suddenly came clearly through Rose’s ear-piece. “Can everyone hear me?”

“Crystal clear,” Rose answered.

“Fantastic! Now, for your first day of training, I’ve decided to go easy on you, and just judge you on how well you can do three things: fighting, teamwork, and use of natural abilities. Since your powers haven’t come in yet, I won’t judge most of you on your aspect quite yet.”

“What a relief,” Dave muttered.

Jacob ignored him. “I don’t expect you to pass any of these with flying colors, or even be able to get through any of these completely, but I do expect you to try your best! Now I’m going to let my beauteous assistant take over, and I wish you all the best of luck!” His name dulled as he turned his channel on, and everyone else's name lit up as he synced them together.

“I think he just jinxed us,” John said, slightly worried.

Jade scoffed. “We’re not jinxed! If we were jinxed, Rose would probably tell us!”

“And what if I decided to keep that information to myself?” Rose said. “Then what?”

Jade shrugged. “Then I guess we’re screwed!” she said cheerfully.

A panel emerged from the wall, harboring various types of weapons. Rifles from handguns to morning stars to spears, it had them all. Immediately, Rose eliminated half of them from her plausible weapon repertoire. While she prided herself on her certain sense of grace, she lacked the type of coordination as to not to impale herself with her own weapon. Maybe one day she’ll be able to wield a mace, but today, or even the near future, was certainly not her day.

Jade and Dave had already grabbed their own armaments, a rifle and a sword respectively. Rose already knew that Jade had an extensive history in all sorts of guns, and Dave had hinted that he knew a thing or two about stabbing things. John didn’t seem to know much about weapons, but he did go for the large colorful hammer in the corner almost immediately.

“John, I’m gonna give you some advice,” Dave said sagely. Breathing deeply and bringing his hands together, he gestured towards his hammer. “What the _fuck_ are you doing.”

John shrugged. “Picking my weapon.”

“How in the _hell_ is that giant toy hammer a weapon?”

John held the hammer defensively. “For your information, I think it looks pretty cool. It makes me feel like Thor or something.”

“John, you _dumbass,_ that hammer is half your size. Thor’s is like a child compared to yours.”

“Stop being salty, you’re only mad because in third grade I said Thor sucks ass.”

“This literally has _nothing_ to do with that.”

Ignoring the rest of the conversation, Rose scanned the wall, looking for the weapon that called out to her. Something sleek with a hint of a barbaric past. Something that screamed she could kill you with her bare hands, but your life was spared because she didn’t feel like washing your blood off afterwards. Something that could very easily and literally disarm quite a few people without breaking a sweat.

 

Essentially, a pair of needles.

 

She grabbed them off the walls, and the panel slid back into the wall soundlessly.

“Needles, Rose?” John asked amusedly. “What are you trying to do, knit the bad guys to death?”

“Yes, I was planning to make them a sweater in the hopes they overheat and die,” Rose answered drily.

“Don’t tease her John, she’ll run you through and then make a cardigan out your guts!” Jade said lightly. “Who knows, she’s morbid like that!”

Rose rubbed her chin in thought. “Maybe not a cardigan, but certainly a scarf. It's all the rage this season.”

Jade gave John a pointed look. “See?”

John opened his mouth to respond, but he was interrupted by Neytiri.

“This portion of the test is to measure how well you currently do in combat,” she explained. “In a matter of moments, you will be separated into individuals, and be paired against a training android. Do your best.” The floor glew into four separate sections of different colors, signaling where each of them should stand.

Jade turned to Rose with a salute. "Good luck!" she chirped.  Rose saluted back, and Jade snickered before turning on her heel and skipping towards an unoccupied section.

Clear planes rose from the ground, then darkened. Rose supposed Jacob wanted to know how well everyone fought beforehand, and he probably didn’t want someone cheating off of others. She hoped her one year of taekwondo from the fourth grade would be enough to hold her over.

“Psst,” John whispered. “Can anyone hear me?”

“Everyone can hear you, dumbass,” Dave replied.

John huffed. “I’m not a dumbass, I just wanted to know if Mr. Harley turned the bluetooths off.”

“Are they really bluetooths?” Jade wondered. “I thought of them more as just wireless microphones.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Dave said. “Microphones don’t go in your _ears.”_

“Dave has a point,” Rose agreed. “That’s why they’re called ear pieces.”

“And I bet you call pop ‘soda’,” John said drily.

“What else would you call it?” Jade scoffed. “Pop is what _old_ people say. Are you a 60 year old posing as a teenager, John? My grandpa warned me about your kind!”

A square sank slowly into the floor. Rose peered into the abyss, and noticed that it was already beginning to rise again, albeit rather slowly. They fell quiet in anticipation, waiting for whatever it was to fully come out.

“Ooh, this is creepy,” John whispered again, slightly afraid. “This is _really_ creepy.”

“John, for the love of all things good, _please_ shut the fuck up,” Dave hissed back through gritted teeth.

“Why don’t you come and make me?”

There was a silence, and then metal clanging as Dave took John up on his offer and began to swat his sword against the paneling, and there was screaming as John most likely began to scramble as far away from Dave as he could.

“Good Lord, and here I was thinking you all could handle the voice channel being on!” Jacob cried exasperatedly. “I’m turning it off until you all can properly handle yourselves!”

“No wait-!” Jade began, but was promptly cut off as the channel shut off. Soon, Rose was just left alone with her thoughts.

The top of a metallic head emerged from the hole in the floor. Within a few monumental moments, the whole of the body was above the ground, and the section of floor locked itself firmly into place. The android just stood there, waiting.

Rose took a few steadying breaths, readying her needles. She suddenly had a few regrets picking them, as she really didn’t have a clue on how to be the needle wielding badass she had pictured in her mind. It certainly wasn’t very affirming that her aspect had also started to inform her that there was the slim chance she might not make it out alive.

Rolling her eyes at her inner doubts, considering death was always a very prominent outcome in almost everything she did adn should not have been counted, Rose plunged at the robot, driving her needles in the head. Yanking them out, she stepped back to survey her work. The robot had slumped a little from the impact, but quickly righted itself.

“Level one complete,” it said, the holes in it’s head already closing back up. “Level two initiated.”

This time, it struck a basic fighting stance. It launched its fist forward, towards Rose’s face, which was easily sidestepped. Slowly, it began to pull back into its initial stance, but Rose had already taken initiative and sliced its arm off. Feeling a little bold, she went for the other arm as well, and then the neck as a finishing move. She didn’t know why she went for the arm and _then_ the head, considering if it was a person she’d want to put them out their misery, bad guy or not. She guessed the reason she was feeling a little extra bloodthirsty was because this robot didn’t bleed or act like a real live human, and that if she got a little murderous here and then, it’d be fine.

Rose didn’t know what she would do once she did have to face real live humans.

Already, the arms reattached themselves and the cut on the robot's neck sealed itself. Initiating level three, it struck the same pose again, only it moved a little quicker, this time managing to kick Rose in the shin. She had more difficulty “killing” it, considering it engaged in some self-defense this time, but she managed to do it.

Rose did not make it past level five. Even though she wouldn’t be the last to say she was an expert in combat, she didn’t think that she’d be out of the ring so quickly. After the robot had managed to get ahold of her needle, she calculated that there was very little chance that she would win, so she threw caution into the win and tackled it. Suffice to say, she didn't win.

Two of the panels lightened, and were lowered back into the ground, freeing Rose from her corner.

“Congratulations Rose!” Jacob praised almost immediately. “You managed to last four rounds!”

“I doubt that was worth any sort of commendation,” Rose said drily. “After all, everyone else is doing better than I did.”

“Now hold your horses,” Jacob said. “Not everybody is doing as well as you believe. In fact, I predict Dave won’t make it past this round.”

A surveillance video of Dave appeared in the center of Rose’s vision, from what looked like the viewpoint of the robot. He was in the middle of a tug of war with the robot with his sword, the robot having had taken ahold of the blade and was very adamantly not letting go. However, with a final tug the android managed to yank the sword out of his hands, and pointed it towards him. Dave tried to smack the blade away from him, but the robot caught his hand almost effortlessly.

“ _Level 7 failed,”_ the android said. It handed the sword back to Dave, and the two panels encapsulating him were lowered into the ground.

Rose went around to join him. “Better luck next time!”

Dave gave her a look. “Are you being purposefully facetious, or do your weird powers let you see what happened?”

Rose tapped her headband. “Jacob shared surveillance with me.”

“Oh shit really?” Dave asked, slightly shocked. “Yo Harley, can I get the hook-up?”

“Are you sure you can handle it?” Jacob asked warily. “I don’t want shenanigans going on again.”

Dave crossed his heart. “I promise I will try not to engage of any sort of shenanigans,” he swore solemnly. He waggled his eyebrows at Rose, signifying that the key word “try” suggested that he would definitely be getting up to all sorts of shenanigans. Rose stifled her laughter.

There was the slightest flicker in Dave’s glasses, and he shot Rose finger guns, apparently having been granted video privileges.

He was a quiet for a brief moment, watching intently. Finally, he said “Being real, this is hella trippy. I can see Jade, like, right in front of me.” He paused, and added. “It’s actually kinda terrifying. Remind me to never get on her bad side.”

"Don't ever get on her bad side," Rose reminded him, watching Jade fight with a faint smile of pride. She flicked her eyes towards the other half of the screen, observing John do effortlessly impossible moves. "But, have you seen John? I didn't even know he could move like that."

“Yeah, John is a beast,” Dave said casually. “He did a lot of martial arts with his dad or something, I’m not too sure. All I really know is that it made him like some kind of ninja. Don't get on his bad side either.”

Words flashed on Jade's side of the visor, and the panels around her lowered. Panting lightly, she pushed her bangs out of her face and propped her gun on her shoulder.

Dave offered her a high five. “You did a pretty swell job in there.”

“Thanks!” Jade smacked his hand with her own, shooting him a smile. “But, how did you know how well I did?”

“There were camera’s in the robot’s eyes, so I could see what it saw,” Dave answered. “It was pretty fucking cool.”

“The cool part was the self-healing polymer,” Jade countered. “Did you see the way it knitted itself together? That’s  _swoon_ worthy!”

The box around John lowered into the ground. He looked terrifyingly serious, but his expression dropped as he blinked and looked around, genuinely confused. “That’s all?” he asked. “I thought we were just getting started!”

“John, not to burst your bubble, but not all of us are kung-fu masters,” Dave said.

“Dave, it wasn’t kung-fu, it was a form of brazilian jiu-jitsu, which you would know if you watched the instructional videos I sent you,” John groaned.

“Yeah, whatever.”

There was clapping as Jacob said “Congrats to you all! Sorry to cut you short John, but you’ve made it evident that you’re clearly well advanced in combat.”

John shrugged, smiling sheepishly. “I do my best.”

“I’m sure you do. Anywho, I do ask that you all step back a few steps, as the next part of your training involves opening the floor!”

Rose took a few steps backwards. The floor split in two, and a humongous inflatable obstacle course rose from the depths.

“Whoa,” John gasped, a little awestruck. “That is _beast.”_

“Now, this next training exercise focuses on teamwork,” Jacob explained. “This should probably be the easiest, as you all already know each other quite well. The point of this obstacle course is to get through it as fast as you can, but there’s a twist!” There was a beep, and words began to flash in front of Rose’s visor.

_Bonding Initiated_

Slowly, Rose found herself being dragged to whoever was closest to her, which was John. Soon, her right leg and his left leg were side by side, and two bracers bound them together.

“Wow!” John squawked. “I knew we’d be working on teamwork, but I didn’t know we’d be _bonding!”_

Rose groaned goodnaturedly, and shoved him away, and caused them both to almost fall over.

“Is this the twist?” Dave asked. “Because if it is, it’s a pretty shitty one. It’s like when that chick in the batman movie reveals that she’s been the bad guy all along and-”

“That wasn’t the twist, and thank you for spoiling the movie!” Jacob said, somewhat irritably. “The twist is this!”

More words began to flash in her face, and the world around her began to get darker until she couldn’t see anything.

_Tint Opacity Rising_

Her visor began to get darker and darker, until she couldn’t see anything.

“John, please tell me you can see,” Rose said.

“Yep!” he answered in an irritatingly cheerful voice. “But, I can’t really see your face." He tapped her face lightly. :Are you okay in there?

Rose nodded. “I’m perfectly fine, just blind.”

“This,” Jacob said with flourish. “this is the twist. John and Jade, you are to guide your partner through the obstacle course in a timely manner, but it's not a race! Dave and Rose, you have to trust your partner and allow them to lead. Now, without further ado, let’s begin!” The channel shut off, and 

“Are you ready?” John asked, placing a steadying hand on Rose’s back. “The obstacle course is just a few feet away.”

“I’m sure I can walk myself over there,” Rose answered.

“Yeah, but we _both_ have to walk over there,” John replied. “Let’s just take it slow for now.” Carefully, they took a few steps forward over to where Rose estimated the obstacle course to be.

“It looks like the first thing is climbing a wall,” John informed. “Way to start us out easy.”

“If I started you out easy, then we’d never get anything done!” Jacob said.

John muttered something under his breath, before saying “So, we’re going to go inside now. Are you ready?”

Rose nodded. “I am.”

He took a step, and pulled Rose along. Once they were solidly inside (or unsolidly, the ground was very springy), he said “I’m gonna start up the wall. It’s only a few feet high, so we should be fine.”

“Yes, I know,” Rose said. “You really don’t need to baby me, I know what you’re going to do before you do it.”

“Does your aspect let you see all or something?” John asked.

“No, but I have a good idea of where I am.”

They made it over the wall, only struggling to get over a little. Rose’s aspect calculated that-

“So we’re at some monkey bars now.”

“John, I _know,”_ Rose said through gritted teeth. “You don’t have to tell me everything!”

“Sorry! It’s just that you’re blind right now and I thought it’d be nice if I gave you an image of where you’re going!”

“What if you had lost your glasses and I needed to guide you everywhere by _explaining?”_

“That’s _literally_ a different situation. I have shitty eyesight, of course I’d want you to guide me!”

Rose huffed in irritation. “How about we stop talking to each other for awhile?”

“Mr. Harley wants us to work on communication,” John pointed out.

“There are numerous other ways to communicate, I’m sure we’ll manage.”

“Yeah sure, I’ll give you some hand signals or something. Oh wait, I can’t, because you can’t see!”

John continued talking, but Rose tapped the side of her headband, thus shutting him out completely. She started forward suddenly, smiling only a little as John was jerked forward, but he soon fell in sync with her.

They stumbled through most of the obstacle course, still on non-speaking terms. John did have to pull her back once or twice before she accidentally caused them to fall into oblivion, but they were fine. Of course, everything went to shit toward the end, but was it really Rose’s fault that she didn’t see the gigantic rotating pole headed straight for her? John should’ve definitely warned her or something.

Dave and Jade did slightly better, key emphasis on _slight._ Even though Dave was the one with the darkened visor, they had managed to break Jade’s glasses, rendering them both blind.

“You all failed so, so horribly,” Jacob sighed after they had finally manage to stumble out. “Dave, next time can you _please_ not try and slice the bonds apart with your weapon?”

“Sure,” Dave said, waving the surviving half of his sword aimlessly. “I mean, I’m pretty sure you don’t have an unlimited supply of shitty swords. That stuff is in high demand, y’know.”

“Yes,” Jacob sighed wearily. “I know.” He dismissed them to combat training exasperatedly, but kept Rose behind.

“You’re aware of your title as the Seer of Light, correct?” Jacob asked.

“Technically, I have no idea what any of that means,” Rose answered. “I assume you’ve left a block of time open for when I invariably barge in and demand answers.”

“Yes, if you come in around 12 or so tomorrow, I believe I can dispose of whoever’s in there quickly enough. Back on track, I already know most of the specifics on how you calculate the chances of an event happening, but what I want to know how far and fast you can get it done.”

Rose hummed in thought. “The farthest ahead I’ve ever predicted was a few weeks ahead, when I predicted Jade’s assassination.”

“Yes, and how fast can you predict?”

“Up to an hour,” Rose said. “I’ve tried lowering my time, but I ended up almost comatose, so...”

“Excuse me, _what.”_

“Disregard that. Know that it can take awhile for me to predict anything.”

Jacob sighed heavily. “Disregarding your terribly flippant behavior towards your health, we’re going to work on speeding up your ability. I’ve already been informed that currently, you have to weed through several streams of information to get what you need. Am I right?”

Rose nodded, pursing her lips. “You’re right. Is there any chance I can meet this informant of yours, or is that another trick up your sleeve for later use?”

“That’s actually an ace in my _backpocket!”_ Jacob answered. “You won’t be able to meet her for quite awhile, as she’s on assignment, and I don’t want to risk her cover by pulling her out.” He changed the subject, saying “Anyways, for today, I really just want to measure how fast your aspect works. I’m going to present to you a panel of buttons, and you have to figure out which one will light up before it lights up.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Rose said slowly, suspicious of his intentions. Jacob was a convoluted man, and practically nothing was as straight forward with him as one would like it to be. “There has to be a catch, though.”

“You’re right, there _is_ a catch,” Jacob said wryly. “The catch is that each time you get it right, the test will move fast and faster, and more environmental hazards will be introduced. Hopefully, while this increases your speed, you also learn to rely on your aspect as well! Now, the best of luck to you!"

A small section of the wall was removed, and a bright yellow panel with three buttons slid in place. At first, finding and pressing whichever button would light up was easy enough. While they did speed up, it was gradual, and Rose had gotten somewhat bored. Things had only gotten interesting when Rose had finished the tenth test. There was a whirring, and an android climbed out the floor next to her. It just stood there, but as Rose went to go press the button before it lit up, it smacked her hand away. She reached for again, faster this time, but it still managed to hit it away. She groaned as the button lit up.

“Better luck next time, Rose!” Jacob cheered, with no hint of ire in his voice. Bastard.

Rose blew her bangs out her eyes. Something told her that she was now slowly sliding out the realm of skating by on her natural talents and would actually have to put forth _effort._ Despicable.

The next trial started, and her fingers tingled in anticipation. Again, the robot swatted her hand away, but she knew it was coming this time, and smashed the button in with her free hand. She smiled in satisfaction, feeling somewhat pleased that she managed to trick the (albeit dumb) robot.

“You’re learning quickly,” Jacob said proudly, definitely wiping a tear away from his eyes. “I have no hesitation that you will _definitely_ master your aspect in no time.”

“Thanks,” Rose replied drily. “I’m sure I’ll soar above and beyond your expectations.”

“Certainly, you’re being sarcastic.”

“It’s what I do.”

After a few dozen more trials, which were weirdly put together and took Rose awhile to figure out, probably because they were put together in a haphazard fashion, Jacob dismissed her. 

A wave of exhaustion hit her, and she dropped on the couch in her locker room before getting dressed. She didn’t know how Jacob had gotten the common sense to put in a couch, but she was damn glad he managed to find it.

"Tomorrow, you should come about an hour early," Jacob said into the ear-piece. "I didn't want you falling behind in combat skills, so I've set aside a little bit of extra time with our specialist for you."

Rose gave him a nod of appreciation. "Thanks. I'm certain I'd be able to skate by on just my wits, but a bit of extra training would be nice."

"While I'm certain you'd be able to take care of yourself entirely on your wits, I'd rather you have something to fall back on just in case! Punching does come in rather handy sometimes." He shut the channel off, leaving Rose to her own devices.

After she had gained enough energy to redress herself, she transportalized down in her apartment. Jade was already done with training, and had parked herself very comfortably on the couch, watching a documentary.

“So, how was training?” Jade asked from the couch, rummaging in her bag of tortilla chips as an shark viciously tore apart a school of fish. Nature is brutal.

Rose shrugged, dropping herself down next to her. “Have I told you that your grandfather is a difficult person?”

Jade nodded sagely. “Yes, many times. You’ve also told me that the way he isn’t out-right difficult is the most difficult part about him.”

“He isn’t even some sort of psychological puzzle to pick apart anymore, it’s like he’s managed to consciously mutate above and beyond that.”

Jade shrugged. “He’s like that sometimes.” She dumped the rest of the bag into her mouth, and rolled it up, tossing it on the coffee table.

Rose picked up the remote, and turned the volume up. She dropped her head in Jade’s lap, and Jade's fingers naturally began to work their way through the kinks in her hair.

“How was _your_ training?” Rose asked. “That had to have been exciting.”

“Pssh, if you call John yelling at you from the sidelines ‘exciting’,” Jade scoffed. “Our instructor almost kicked him out.”

Rose lifted her head slightly. “John didn’t train with you?”

Jade shook her head. “Nope! He’s like some kind of master at this, it’s kinda freaky.”

“I knew _something_ had to be weird about him,” Rose muttered. “He was just _too_ normal for my tastes.”

“You do realize that he’s gonna have super powers, right?”

“That’s irrelevant.”

Jade sighed. “I’m sure _it’s_ very relevant, but whatever. Also, I’ve been meaning to ask, but do you have any idea of when I’m getting my powers?” Her voice was nonchalant as she wrapped a curl around her finger, but it had a hopeful note.

“I have an answer, but you’re not going to like it.”

“Tell me,” Jade pleaded, dropping all nonchalance. “Tell me tell me _tell me.”_

"I'm sorry," Rose sighed, positioning herself to face up towards Jade. “You’re going to be the very last person to unlock your powers.”

Jade pouted.

“But,” Rose added, not quite hasty, but hastily enough. “I have a feeling they’re sure to be awesome.”

“But I want my cool powers _now,”_ Jade whined, getting up and throwing her trash away.

“You’ll get them soon enough, you just have to be _patient,"_ Rose chastised, dropping back down on the couch. The shark had apparently taken to giving birth on screen, though her baby was quickly eaten by a male shark. 

Jade rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I’ll try to be patient Miss I Got My Powers First But Had To Be Convinced.”

“You have a point.” Rose sat up, brushing Jade’s crumbs onto the floor. "But you also have to concede that I had my reasons for suspicion."

Jade raised a slow eyebrow, dropping herself back on the couch. "Because spiders?"

"Because spiders."

* * *

 The next day, Rose went upstairs to the top floor, deciding that it was time for some answers.

Considering he was the owner and CEO of Harley Labs, it was only fair he took the entire top floor to himself. Of course, since he was a difficult man, you could only access his office by stairs, possibly just so he could show off his handmade and hand polished solid oak door (though he’d never admit that). It was a good quality door made from a man who obviously knew his doors well. You could even see your face in it a little so you could fix yourself up before coming in, because that was a useful feature.

Of course, Rose had little disregard for his specially made door when she barged in. It was about time it got a good barging anyways.  
  
Jacob didn’t even bother to look up as his precious door was smashed open. “Hello Rose!” he said, still signing a couple of documents. “Take a seat while I finish up with paperwork.”  
  
Rose took a seat in the leather chair in front of his desk, and looked around the office. Surprisingly, there were none of the usual flairs that Jacob normally implements on anything and everything he decorates. It was much more professional, and honestly, it was much more annoying.  
  
It was very large, but also quite empty. The wall to the back of his office was one whole window, and the rest of the walls were oak paneling so shiny Rose could almost see her reflection in them. Even though the room was clean, his desk was not. His desk was cluttered with various papers and photographs of his grandchildren, and a few of Jade’s inventions were scattered here and there.

Finally, he returned his pen to its stand, and pushed away his paperwork. “How can I help you today?”

“I’ve decided to learn about the program on my own time,” Rose informed him. “I’m thinking of starting with my title.”

“Ah yes,” Jacob said sagely, propping his feet up on the desk. “The Seer of Light.”

Rose leaned forward in a slightly questioningly manner, or at least what she deemed to be slightly questioning. “What does it mean?”

“Well, let’s start with the first part: Seer,” Jacob began, leaning back in his own specially made chair specifically so he could lean back and maintain an air of professionalism. “Essentially, it means that you can see into the future, or what could possibly be the future.”

“Are there other seers?” Rose asked. “Do they have the same powers as me?”

“Yes, there are other seers, but no, they don’t really have the same powers as you,” Jacob answered. “For example, your counterpart has the exact same title as you, so she sees the future the same way. But, we have another seer who doesn’t see the future like you do.”

“How does she see it then?”

“That brings us to the ‘light’ part of your title. You know how you see the future through chances and probabilities?” Jacob asked. “For example, you’d most likely know the chance of getting ink all over myself if I picked up my pen.”

The numbers ran quickly, considering it was a small scenario and there weren’t that many factors to consider. “It’d be 37%, considering you forgot to put the top back on.” 

“Exactly!” Jacob said. “You see the _likelihood_ of an event from information you receive, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you see every event. This certain seer, however, can see all the events resulting from a choice, but not their likelihood.”

“Interesting,” Rose mulled, stroking her chin. 

“Is there anything else you’d like to know?” Jacob asked. “I’m open for at least another hour.”

“What about your paperwork.”

“I’ll have Neytiri forge my signature. I’m sincerely all ears, Rose.”

Rose crossed her arms. She only had a few questions pertaining to her aspect, but now that Jacob had openly admitted that he had nothing but time, all questions in her mind suddenly became louder, like they couldn’t wait to get answered. She picked the most prominent one, just to shut it’s screaming up.

“What’s my counterpart doing right now?”

“That’s classified, but you’re an expert confidant,” Jacob answered. “Currently, she’s working on dismantling the Alternian empire. They’re a very hostile nation towards us, you know.”

Rose raised an eyebrow warily. “Towards America?”

A hearty laugh escaped from Jacob. “Oh, I _wish,”_ he chuckled, wiping his eyes. “No, they’re perfectly amicable with the American government, wet socks they are. They just so happen to _intensely_ dislike Harley Labs.”

“Is there any particular reason?” Rose asked. “Are you both on terms that might end with the building getting invaded or….?”

Jacob shook his head. “No, the Empress would never try to pull something like that, though I’m certain she has spies stationed here. But they make such damn good inventions I might as well keep them around. She only hates us because of her ties to the program, but that part is truly confidential, so I can’t really elaborate further than that.”

Rose snapped her fingers in mock-disappointment. “And here I was thinking I was going to get some answers.”

“I’m well aware of your desire to be fully educated, but the fact is that you’re simply not ready yet,” Jacob said. Rose opened her mouth to reply, but he stopped her and said “No, I know that I’ve already pointed out that you’re an excellent secret keeper, but this is more of a matter of your _own_ security. I’m sure Jade already made you aware of my processes.”

Rose nodded. “She told us your plans after the attempt on her life. I do believe she said she could read you like a book.”

“And I don’t blame her,” Jacob said. "I am a very predictable man." Rose made a face at that, but she decided not to remark on it for now.

Jacob suddenly brightened, like he had forgotten something but just remembered. “That reminds me! I’ve always been meaning to ask that you record any visions that you receive. I’ve always wanted an early warning system in place, but your counterpart simply moves around too much to reliably get in touch with her.”

“That seems like a reasonable enough request,” Rose replied. “I’m sure this doesn’t entail you stealing my brain and hooking it up to a machine to actually create a literal early warning system.”

Jacob chuckled. “I don’t believe it does, but I’ll keep you updated in case someone gets an idea like that. Do you have any more questions?”

“What do you have in store training-wise?” Rose asked. “I’m not going to be pushing buttons all day, am I?”

“Not to be rude, but sometimes it feels like that’s all you do,” Jacob answered lightly, a twinkle in his eyes. Rose rolled her eyes, annoyed, and he chuckled.

“Sorry, had to get it out my system.” He picked up a stack of papers, and straightened them out on the table. “I have other things planned, but you will be button-pushing for at least a few more sessions.”

Rose brushed her bangs out of her eyes. “And after that?”

“That depends on how well you do on pushing buttons, which so far, you excel in both.”

“As much as you’re ribbing me about purposely ticking off others, you seem to have forgotten that you have a penchant for doing so as well,” Rose pointed out lightly.

Jacob shrugged. “Touche. Is there anything else I can aid you in?”

Rose shook her head with a wry smile. “I’m sure that if I asked you anything else, I’d be met with a wall reading ‘classified’. I’m good for now.” She stood to leave, giving a small goodbye wave.

“Anytime Rose!” Jacob said. “Come back if you need something else!"

* * *

A couple days later, after a _particularly_ bad day of training together as a group, Rose was feeling _particularly_ pissed off. Her aspect had decided it suddenly hated her, and gave her a constant stream of information that could be shut up no matter how hard she tried (and believe the half-empty bottle of Nyquil, she  _tried),_ and thus she was operating on less than an hour of sleep. 

So, an already horrible start, meaning training couldn't have gone well. And it wasn't like it could even she had a full night of three hours of sleep. 

Jacob had started them on training to fight specifically against the Felt. He even had multiple combat androids rigged up meant to simulate each individual member, complete with a rather amazing hat so that they'd learn to distinguish who's who. It was a brilliant idea, but only brilliant for those who have had actual combat training. Since Rose was behind in training, she lagged behind the others. So, she wasn't feeling too encouraged either.

“Can't just we skip practice today?” Rose asked. “I have a feeling that today isn’t going to go well, and I’d rather just join the others in combat training.”

“No, I have a good feeling about today,” Jacob said. “What about we do a few trials, and then you can take off for the rest of the day?”

Rose rolled her eyes, but she consented. “Fine. But once an hour is up, I’m leaving whether or not we’re done.”

“That’s alright by me!”

The first few trials were actually rather difficult. Rose could feel herself getting increasingly stressed out each time she failed. More than once her eyes flitted towards the door, calculating her chances of escape. Jacob was nothing but extremely encouraging the entire time, which only got on her nerves even more. Perhaps if he had yelled at her at least once, she might’ve actually been more successful. Nothing like spite to motivate someone.

“There’s only one more test,” Jacob said. “This is definitely going to be the hardest by far, but I have faith you can do it!”

Rose gave a noncommittal grunt. She was gross and sweaty, her arms hurt, and she could already feel a few bruises forming around her rib cage where the last android had elbowed her.

She steadied herself, ready to put in whatever she had left just so she could finally leave and take a fucking nap.

Her aspect gave her the button that would light, and the approximate amount of time she would have to get to the button (15 seconds).

The android readied itself once Rose took a step forward. She took another step, and it started charging towards her. She threw one of her needles, and it planted itself with a thud in its arm. It didn’t stop running at her however, and she barely had enough time to sidestep as it ran past her.

10 seconds.

Rose took this as an opportunity to start sprinting towards the panel. The android behind her made a hard right, and surpassed her own speed. It shoved her hard, and Rose stumbled, but she stayed upright while the android, under the force of its shove, fell.

5 seconds.

In a final attempt to stop Rose from getting towards the panel, the android yanked her ankle.

0 seconds.

Her head smacked into the ground hard enough to see stars in her vision, but Rose hardly paid attention to that. She hardly paid attention to the throbbing pain in her arm that she landed on awkwardly, or the stabbing pain in her knee that had cracked down into the hard, unforgiving floor. The panel flashed red, but Rose didn’t pay much attention to that.

The only thing she could focus on was her hatred.

She doesn’t remember what happened after that, as everything had become a muddled blur. All she desired in the moment was to see the faceless android rendered limb from limb, and watch as its family looked on in horror. All she wanted was to tease it with the sweet release of death, only to rip it away at the very last moment. She wanted it to die a thousand painful deaths, all while she laughed in the background.

Darkness swarmed her vision, and she barely noticed the voice in her head. 

Ģ̘̤͢i̡̢̳͍͙͖̪̭ͅv̵̡͍̰̩e̜̯̤̭̠̭͙͡ ͏̵̠̪i͏̘͕͟n͓̘͙̣t̵̤̻̱̞͟o̶͚͔̦̭̬͕͟ ͈̠̥̻̞̝͜t͏̠̜̬h̛̭͕̘̘̦͞ḙ̳͔̺͙͉̪ ̷͉̝͕̦͞h̠͉̬̰ą͖̼͓̭̻̫͞͡ţ̺̥̱̣͕̙͘ͅe̱̝͕͍̙͓̹,̡̺̘͎̟̟͎̤̞͜͝ ̩d̲͙͞e͏͏̨̤̰̘̜͚̟a̡͕͈͢r̸̫̠̠͞ ̢̭̤̠̳̥̖̫͠R͏̥̮̱͖̭̬̜̥̳͜o̴̬̱s̨̤͇͎̖e̟̜͉̭͚.͏͕̺̭   
  
---  
  
  
“-Rose stop! That’s enough!” Jacob roared in her ears.

She paused, and her vision clearing from the dark black that had swarmed seconds before. In front of her, she saw the android.

 

With several smoking holes in its head and chest.

 

“Sweet Lord, are you alright?!” Jacob cried.

Rose’s head snapped toward the viewing box, and she nearly fell backwards in shock at her reflection.

She looked _unnatural._ Her eyes blazed with a white hot intensity that spilled out the sides, like whatever was inside was struggling to break free. Her face was dark, like all of her hate seeped through her pores, staining her skin. Her simple metal needles had twisted into something otherworldly. Blazing swirls of smoke floated from her. 

If Rose wasn’t currently flipping the fuck out, she would’ve thought she looked rad as hell.

“I’m not fully aware of what happened,” Rose said slowly. Already her feelings dissipated, leaving her with a sense of exhaustion, almost as if she had just finished crying. “It just seemed to have.... _happened.”_

Jacob sighed. There was the jingling of keys, and the hidden door from the viewing room to the training grounds opened. “It certainly isn’t your fault,” he said, walking towards her. “You did manage to thoroughly wreck the android, however.”

Rose cast an eye to the slightly twitching android. The polymer seemed to struggle to heal itself, considering she managed to get past the artificial skin and through to the computer machinery inside.

“What happened?” Rose asked softly. “I’ve never felt like _anything_ like that before.”

Jacob nodded, staring down at the robot. “Few have. It’s one of the downsides of the aspect gene.”

Rose pursed her lips. “Are you implying that anyone who has the gene has the ability to go....?”

“Grimdark?” Jacob offered. “Yes, absolutely. It’s the rawest form of your aspect, but it’s difficult to unlock, and once you have, it’s difficult to shut out.”

Rose blew her bangs out her eyes tiredly. “Is there a way to get rid of it entirely?”

“We’ve tried, but nothing proved permanently successful without rendering the subject extremely weakened. It’s almost like the grimdark supplies most of the power.” He sighed. “It’s too bad that we know virtually nothing about it.”

“Have you-”

“No,” Jacob answered quickly, shaking his head. “I’ve never been grimdark, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“So that means you have the aspect gene?”

Jacob made an “ _ehhh”_ sound. “More or less? Well, less actually. I have a watered down form of it, if you could call it watered down.” He kicked at the android, and it jerked pitifully. The polymer had managed to almost fully restore, but there were gaps in the places that Rose had stabbed too deep enough to cover back up.

He turned towards Rose. “I sincerely apologize for pushing you over the edge. I should’ve been paying attention closer attention to your vitals, but you were so close to a breakthrough that I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“I definitely would’ve liked a heads up,” Rose replied. “Anything to help me steer clear.”

Jacob nodded in understanding. “I should have, but you going grimdark was such a slim chance I didn’t think I had to bother.”

“Still. I suggest you warn the others, just so they don’t have to go through…. _this.”_

“I will.”

They stared back down at the android.

“You have a long road ahead of you Rose,” Jacob said finally. “Godspeed.”

* * *

 Rose laid on the floor, contemplating life in general. Jacob had called a meeting to order to discuss what had happened, but had the sense enough to exclude Rose.

A whole new world had opened itself to Rose, but really, all she wanted to do was shut the door.

What would happen if she snapped like that on her friends? Her mother? Hell, what would happen if she just snapped in general? The labs didn’t know what the fuck was going on with grimdark, so how would they know how she could control it? She doesn’t even know who else suffers from it!

She took a deep breath to calm herself from her increasingly riled up state. If anything, she could work on what she _did_ know. She needed to attack this from a logical standpoint, not an emotional one, because if today taught her anything, it’s that emotions _suck._ Rose ran down a list of everything that happened.

  1. She remembers she was _extremely_ pissed off right before shit hit the fan.
  2. She remembers that oh-so soft voice right before she was entirely consumed.
  3. Everything went dark.



The voice had to have something to do with it. Rose didn’t recognize it, and it seemed unlikely that some random manifestation of her anger would suddenly start speaking to her. She already didn’t like how it felt so familiar, like she’d known whoever was speaking since before she was born. She didn't know her father, but she shuddered at the thought of the voice having a role in her conception.

No doubt Jacob would ask her questions later, try and glean any information he can to further research. Perhaps Rose could ask if other people who’ve unlocked their grimdark hear a voice upon transformation. Maybe her counterpart, if she could contact her.

But for now, she was on her own. She could either let herself be consumed in self-pity, or she could get up off her ass and take action.

She grabbed a pair of spare crochet needles, and slid on her tennis shoes. She had some training to do.

* * *

It was actually pretty nice on the roof. The sun had mostly gone down, but a golden light had settled on New York, making it shimmer. She took a deep breath, relishing the slightly smoggy stink of her home city.  

She picked up one of her crochet needles that she brought up. They were close enough to her weapons, and it wasn’t like she particularly liked this pair anyways (they always stuck to her wool). Focusing on her anger from before, her hand was enveloped in shadows, and the needle was transformed. It looked similar to the grimdark needles from earlier, but they didn’t look nearly as intense as before, considering her anger had faded. Her skin had a faint grey pallor, but again, not as intense.

She turned them around in her palm, inspecting them. They actually looked hella rad, like the kind of needles that a goth grandmother would use to crochet her black magic doilies. Rose didn’t know if that kind of grandmother existed, but if she did, she would certainly be a very cool one.

However, no matter how rad they were, she could still feel the dark energy surrounding them. As much as she appreciated the aesthetic of being corrupted by the dark, she didn’t especially like the part where she lost all sort of self control.

She tossed the negative needle to the side, and picked up the other one. If her theory was right, then her particularly strong emotions changed the appearance of her needles. She took a deep breath, and thought of happier things.

 

Cats.

The last day of school.

Her mother remembering her ninth birthday.

The fateful first day she met Jade.

 

Her hand glowed briefly, and the needle changed appearance, only it was radically different. They glowed like her hand did, and felt almost lighter than before.

Rose wasn’t exactly sure if there was a purpose to all this besides beautification, but it certainly wasn’t like she’d be upset by empty aesthetics.

She picked up the needle she discarded, waving them around experimentally. She struck what she deemed to be a motherfuckin’ rad-as-hell pose, thrusting the grimdark needle forward.

An arc of dark, cracking energy shot out.

Rose yelped, dropping the needle. It clattered to the ground, having already returned to it’s natural state of being a slightly shitty crochet needle. She kicked it slightly, but no other bolts shot out.

She glanced at the still-glowing needle in her other hand. An idea had started formulating in her mind, a radical, motherfucking cool as shit kind of idea.  

She thrust the other needle straight out in-front of her, aiming for the ugly green gremlin on the English Furniture billboard. It was time that it got what it deserved anyways. 

This time, there wasn’t a crackle of energy. Instead, something suspiciously needle-like shot out from the tip of the crochet needle, and continued on a path that didn’t arc, hitting the gremlin square in the eyes.

Radically motherfucking cool as shit indeed.

Someone coughed behind her, and she jumped for what felt like the millionth time. She turned and glared at the intruder for startling her. Of course, it was Dave who had managed to open the squeaky roof door silently like the weird ninja he was.

He stood in the doorway, casually leaning on the frame. He lifted his juice in greeting. “Sup.”

Rose raised her needle in greeting. “Why are you here”

He shrugged. “Just wanted to see if you were okay. Harley told us what happened.”

Rose winced, a brief summary of the events replaying in her mind. “How much did he tell you?”

“Not much. He pretty much just showed us the footage. Let me just say, I’ve never really seen you lose your cool like that before. Like, you were on fucking fire man, the complete _opposite_ of chill."

Rose shrugged. “In all honesty, I was quite infuriated.” Changing the subject, she asked “Is there a particular reason why John or Jade didn't come with you?”

“I asked them to stay down,” Dave answered. “Well, more like convince them to do something else other than smothering you at the moment. I’m pretty sure they’re planning something for you right now though, so I’d avoid opening literally any door possible unless you want a face full of apology confetti.”

Rose nodded in understanding. “I’ll do my best to sacrifice your face to the jettison of confetti.”

“Thanks,” Dave said drily. “Anyways, we need to talk.” He discarded his empty juice box near the door, and went inside, coming back out with one of his spare swords the Jacob had given him (this one was a rapier, if Rose remembered Dave complaining about it correctly enough).

“What’s _that_ for?” Rose asked warily, pointing to the sword. “Is ‘talking’ a euphemism for mercy killing?”

Dave glanced at it, and shook his head. “Nah, you’d put up too much of a fight, and I don’t have time for all that. Instead, I’m gonna take it upon myself to train you in the Strider ways of repressing shit. Please, hold your applause to the end.”

Rose raised an eyebrow. “If I’m not mistaken, I’m sure I’ve read somewhere that repressing emotions does _more_ damage than talking about them honestly.”

“Yeah, but it’s the best we got right now,” Dave replied. “Plus, it’s not like I’m trying to teach you how to repress things 24/7 or any other toxic shit like that. Just enough for you to learn how to keep a cool head during fights.”

“Thanks.” Rose placed a genuinely appreciative hand on his arm. “It means a lot.”

Dave shrugged. “I mean, it’s whatever. I kinda just don’t want you going all psycho on us because I accidentally fondled something of yours in the wrong way.”

“When you say fondle-”

“Don’t.” Dave put a hand up to stop her. “Just don’t.”

Rose smirked. "I won't."

“Oh, and I wanted to try and teach you a few basics of fighting with needles too,” Dave said, slightly warming himself up. “You have the concept of stabbing things with them down, but I know you’re into flowery bullshit like tea parties and poetry so I wanted to try and like help you get the more elegant side of needle-fighting down.”

Rose gave him a look. “Exactly how many weapons are you trained in?”

"You remember my brother, right?” Dave asked. “The weird, estranged one?”

“The weeb, correct?”

Dave sighed, rolling his eyes in exasperation. “Yeah, _him._ Anyways, he was an expert in swords and other close ranged shit like that, so he took it upon himself to train his lil baby bro the ways of the ninja -that’s exactly what he said I shit you not- so, I’m not a pro at daggers or needles, but I can teach you a few basics.”

Dave was surprisingly helpful, not like Rose had _any_ doubts whatsoever about his ability to store more in his brain than obscure rhymes and metaphors. He gave her a few pointers on keeping her head during a fight, and a couple of tips on how exactly to wield her needles to disembowel a man in one move.

Overall, it was productive.

The sun had long past gone down, and the temperature plunged from the normally insufferable heat of the day to what could be called a tolerable chill in the air under the right circumstances.

“Alright, Rose, the sensei of awesome has declared that training is now officially over,” Dave announced, propping his sword on his shoulder like the protagonist of an anime might. “Now let’s get our asses inside, because I’m _exhausted.”_

* * *

 Inside, Jade had declared an official movie night, one of what was deemed to be many. Boxes of candy (no doubt brought up from her own stash) were stacked decoratively, the smell of popcorn was in the air, and soft blankets were scattered here and there. It was clear that Jade and John obviously wanted to try and make Rose feel better while trying to be subtle, and she appreciated it.

The movie John picked was absolutely terrible, and nobody had a damn clue about what it was about, which really just made it more fun to throw popcorn at each other without losing track of the movie.

Nobody brought up Rose's training outburst, which she was quite relieved about. She didn't want to recount what happened, and she doubted that her friends, however curious, would be tactless enough to ask her about it. Still, there was an unspoken agreement between Rose and Dave that they weren’t done working together, considering that there was a long way to go before one learns to keep a sound mind.

(However, this would be the second deed of overall good deeds her friends have done for her in the past day, and the third in the past month if she counted their smothering during her stay in the clinic. If they kept this up, Rose would have no choice than to throw them the most genuine, heartfelt thank-you party of their lives, complete with fruit bouquets and gift baskets. Most likely, nobody would want to go through that ordeal.)

When the credits began to roll, Rose stretched and yawned, unbelievably exhausted. “Ugh, I doubt I could even make it to my room, and it’s not even that far. What time is it?”

“About 2:57,” Dave answered, almost automatically.

John checked his phone, and looked surprised. “Yeah, you’re right! How’d you do that?”

Dave shrugged. “Just a guess. It always seems to be 2:57 in the morning." 

There was a hint of gleam in Jade’s eye, and Rose had a feeling that she’d be waking up tomorrow covered in research papers.

“Whatever time it is, I’m staying right here,” Rose groaned, ignoring the scientific twinkle in her friends eye to curl up into an exhausted ball on the floor. “Is it okay I just so happen to pass out right here?”

Jade nodded in a tiredly fervent way, stifling a yawn. “Yeah, sure! Let’s make this movie night a movie _sleep over!”_ She stood, and draped a random blanket over Rose’s body. They spread out on the floor, more-or-less mumbled their goodnights, and Rose fell asleep in the warm feeling called friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh ho ho....a grimdark rose :3  
> i wonder if that'll have any ~ _plot relevance_ ~ >:3c 
> 
> did you all see the part where i completely and totally bastardized rose's powers? because there's _a lot_ more of that to come. okay, maybe not a whole lot, but jazzing up roses powers was something along the lines of "hey rose sorry that seeing the future kinda sucks for you right now, but here, now you can make weapons and shit with the power of your hands" or something like that.


	9. perfectly fine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> edit: this has been rewritten!

****In light of recent events, Jacob had decided to give them a break, at least for the day, allowing them all to sleep in instead of waking them up at ass o’clock.

Jade, already an early riser, had woken up and disappeared, most likely wanting to be courteous to her guests while she mad-science’d whatever she thought was going on with Dave last night. Rose had barely cracked an eye when she noticed Jade leaving, having been too exhausted to actually utter good morning.

But, now she was up. The rising sunlight casted an ethereal sort of glow, which she Rose would’ve appreciated if she hadn’t positioned herself in such a way last night that she’d wake up to the sun in her face.

As she sat up, Bec’s ears perked, and he lifted his head to watch Rose stretch upward. He slid out from under Dave’s death grip and padded over to Rose’s loving pats.

Bec was one of the dogs that Harley Labs used for testing, but Jade had wandered into the animal floor one day, saw him, and never let him go. Through a variety of legal shenanigans too boring to go into detail, he was released into Jade’s custody, and they’ve been inseparable ever since. Her grandparents had thoroughly convinced Jade that he was the control in the experiments and he hasn’t had his body altered in any way. Of course, Rose didn’t believe them for one bit. The glint in Bec’s eyes suggested that he had more than an idea of what was going on, and was, in fact, smarter than everyone in the room put together. If the world was coming to an end, Rose was certain Jade would have her dog taken away and placed in the world-preservation committee.

Nonetheless, Bec seemed more than content to spend most of his day sleeping and receiving ample amounts of love and affection.

John groaned, rolling over onto his back and throwing an arm over his eyes.

“I feel so _sore,_ ” he groaned, slowly propping himself up. “That’s the last time I’m sleeping on the floor.” He blinked blearily, and patted the ground softly to look for his glasses. Rose picked them up off the coffee table, and handed them to him, which he took gratefully.

“How are you doing?” John asked, rubbing his glasses on his shirt. “Are you feeling any better than yesterday?”

Rose nodded. “I feel _much_ better than yesterday, thank you for the impromptu movie night.”

“No prob,” John replied. He stood, and shuffled to the kitchen, looking for food. Opening the refrigerator, he sighed, and slammed it shut. He muttered something to himself, grumbling about Jade’s more-than-poor choice in foods and threw the refrigerator open again to grab the unopened bottle of grape juice.

The television screen flickered on.

“HELLO ROSE!” Jacob boomed, startling everybody. Rose scrambled for the remote, turning down the volume until Jacob’s voice was just below normal speaking volume.

“What’s a better way to start your day than by some old guy yelling at you,” Dave grumbled, burrowing himself further into his mountain of blankets.

“I wanted to ask if you’d be willing to come down to my office for a brief discussion?” Jacob asked, after Rose had given him the go ahead to speak.

“Sure,” Rose answered. “It’s not like I’m not doing anything of importance right now.”

Jacob raised a disbelieving eyebrow. “ _Are_ you doing something vital right now?”

“No.”

“Good! You’re so deadpan sometimes it’s difficult to tell when you’re telling the truth.”

“I’m sure, it is.” A corner of Rose’s mouth lifted into a smirk. “Anyways, give me a few minutes to freshen up, and I’ll be down eventually.”

Jacob gave her a nod, and the television shut itself off.

“So are you leaving before you even eat breakfast?” John asked. “I already poured a cup of juice for you, so….”

Rose rolled her eyes, grabbing the glass. “Thank you _so_ much. What would the world be without you?”

John shrugged. “Breakfast-less, probably.”

“For the love of all things good, please _shut the fuck up,”_ Dave groaned, burrowing himself deeper into his blanket pile, sticking his hand out briefly to flip an obscene gesture.

John rolled his eyes. “You better go before mister angry pants wakes up for real. I swear, he’s so _grumpy_ in the morning.”

“I’ll do my best to avoid His Royal Grumpbutt.” Rose tipped the last of the grape juice back, and placed the glass down onto the counter. Cracking her knuckles, she jumped onto the transportalizer and waved goodbye before teleporting to her apartment.

As she freshened up, she speculated what Jacob wanted to talk about. He’d definitely want to follow up on the grimdark incident, any sane person would. He might want to give tips on how to avoid future occurrences, and it was possible he might put her in contact with her counterpart, considering they had the same powers, so they should have some expertise on the issues as well. Though Jacob could be absolutely insufferable at times, Rose knew she was in good hands.

 

She was going to be perfectly f̴̟̼̺ͨ̀ͪͤ̅͊ḭ̸͓͆̅̇n͉̤̭͎̣̯͔̦̂̃̑̒̌͞e̙͍͎̠̥̣ͨ͘͠͡ .

 

Adjusting her headband in the mirror one last time, she transportalized to Jacob’s office floor. The door was propped open, and Rose heard soft jazz playing. She stepped inside, the floorboard squeaking.

“Hello Rose!” Jacob greeted, invisible from behind the mountain of papers that were ever-present on his desk. A hand popped out from the middle of the mountain, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk. “Please, take a seat! One of the most awkward meetings I’ve ever had was the only time I wasn’t offered a chair.”

He paused, and said “Of course, not being offered a chair was irrelevant to the general unpleasantness of it all, but I’d rather not relive the moment.”

With a flourish, Jacob pushed all of his paperwork onto the floor. A circular hole opened in the corner of his office, and slowly began sucking the papers towards it, most likely waiting to dump it all back on Jacob’s desk once Rose left.

“Now, let’s get down to the more important stuff.” He tapped a few keys on his desk, and

“Is my training going to be stalled in the meantime?”

Jacob nodded. “For the meantime, yes and no. Until we get your issues under control, you’ll have to train under different circumstances, and away from everyone else.”

Rose nodded in understanding. “That makes sense.”

“It’s for the best,” Jacob continued. “Of course, this doesn’t just affect your training either. Of what we do know about grimdark is that one tends to be a bit volatile afterwards. I’m not saying you need to entirely isolate yourself, but I do advise limiting the amount of time spent with your peers.”

“By volatile, do you mean somewhat irritable or easily volcanic in a matter of seconds?” Rose asked. “I’m going to need specifics so I don’t end up gutting some poor, annoying soul.”

“It’s somewhere in between,” Jacob answered. “It really depends on your own temperament.”

“So….somewhat irritable.”

Jacob shrugged. “It helps that you’re normally cool under pressure.”

Rose grimaced. “Do you know when it’ll go away?”

Jacob shook his head sadly. “Unfortunately, we don’t have a reliable timeline for this sort of thing. He leaned back in his seat, sighing. “The damndest thing about it is that everyone goes about it in different ways, and since it’s such an unprecedented event, I can’t even point you in the right direction.” He rubbed his temples tiredly, as if the weight of the world was on him. Rose supposed it was.

“Dave’s been giving pointers on how to remain calm in an escalating situation,” she offered.

Jacob looked slightly surprised, and the tiniest bit perturbed. “He is?”

Rose nodded. “We started yesterday, but we’ll stop if you want. It’s just that they’ve seem to have been helpful so far.”

“Well, I’ll let you decide if you want to continue, though I suggest you use blunt, round-tipped objects. I don’t exactly want an incident where one of you have stabbed the other.”

“Of course,” Rose agreed, briefly flashing back to yesterday where they used Very Real and Very Sharp objects to practice. “We wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Jacob sat quietly for a few moments, considering his next words as he spun idly in his chair.  Rose ran a hand through her hair absentmindedly, twisting a curl in her fingers as she waited for Jacob to say something.               

He sighed, and finally, he sat forward, steepling his hands.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, but are you okay with me running a few tests?” he asked. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to pry you open or inject rods into your brain, I simply want to observe what triggers the grimdark and if there’s way we can be prepared for you.”

Rose shrugged. “I mean, it certainly doesn’t sound like a bad idea to be prepared. Plus, this research could be helpful for others who’ve experienced what I have.”

Jacob nodded “It certainly is.” He summoned forth a smile that was only slightly fake.

“I’ll schedule a psychologist to work with us for a week or two, and after that this grimdark incident should be but a faint stain in our memory!”

* * *

 

Rose furiously chopped up a whole salmon that she had gotten for 25% off. Not as good as half-off, but she needed something violent but productive to with her time, and when she had brought this up John has suggested cooking.

Plus, chopped salmon with mashed potatoes sounded pretty good right about now.

She reflected on the past week as she chopped, every once in a while pulling the knife out the cutting board because she had brought it down with too much force.

The psychological tests that Jacob devised were basic enough, and guaranteed easily extrapolated results. Granted, they were personality and dating quizzes clipped out of women’s magazines that couldn’t have been any younger than ten years, but Jacob insisted that they had merit. Rose simply went along with it, as trying to understand why he had an insurmountable amount of magazines and catalogs would’ve proved too difficult. It did help that he did have a few tests that weren’t from Womens World scattered here and there, and an actual psychologist came in regularly.

However, once Jacob began to test her in actual, physical situations, things started to become a little difficult.

On paper, Rose was generally pretty okay compared to everyone else on her team. Granted, most of them were at least slightly fucked up, but that was par the course.

But in real life, Rose had opened a door that she couldn’t shut. It was like Pandora’s Box, only instead of a tiny butterfly of hope fluttering out in the end, it was a post-it on the bottom that read “lol sucks to be you”. In one of the situations that measured her protection instinct, she very nearly killed the person she was supposed to protect in an effort to protect them. In another test that observed how quickly she snapped, she lasted mere seconds. Over and over again, she couldn’t control herself.

Slowly, it became clear that nobody’s efforts were working. Jacob had running out of ideas to try to turn off the grimdark, and her counterpart had fallen silent on the matter. Dave’s tips worked, but only up to extent. Her supplementary training was stalled, and it was obvious she was falling behind. Which wasn’t that good, because her group had started to work on the more dangerous and unpredictable members of the Felt, and there’d be hell to pay if she had to go up against them any time soon.

On top of it all, Rose couldn’t exactly vent about her frustrations to anybody except her appointed psychologist, and that was through a 3 inch glass panel in case she snapped, literally and metaphorically. She’d taken Jacob’s advice about distancing herself from her friends for their sake, and had barely talked to them in the past few weeks. Though she didn’t want to see them hurt, she’d like to know if Jade pulled a prank on Dave, or John’s theories on whether or not Dave and Jade could even work out, or the last shitty salad adventure Dave had. Frankly, it was boring being by herself all the time, something she’s had far too much of in her life.

Rose grabbed the instant potatoes she had brought out for her salmon, spooning it into a mixing bowl that John had “given” her. Though potatoes temporarily took her mind off of the her stressful predicament, she couldn’t help but to feel hopeless about everything.

A feeling of an idea tickled the back of her brain.

Slowly, she put down the bowl and spoon. The premonition grew slightly stronger, as if her aspect was trying to subtly communicate with her. Perhaps her desperation had unlocked something deep inside her, something that couldn’t have been found until she was in absolute dire straits. A whisper trailed its fingers along the back of her thoughts, telling her to let _this_ guide her, that _this_ will help, _this_ is going to change _everything._

Working mostly on instinct that just felt _right,_ she quickly wrote a note, and stepped on the transportalizer pad, going to wherever her aspect leaded her.  

She could fix herself.

* * *

 The wind was lively, and the sky was thick was clouds, ready to give way to rain at any moment.

Rose wasn’t exactly sure _why_ she was back on the roof. She wasn’t sure as to why she had the feeling that something significant was going to happen. Perhaps this was the inspirational butterfly of hope that had accidentally slept through its alarm, but was now pounding its wings trying to keep up with all of her released monsters.

Maybe this wouldn’t beat the grimdark. But she had to try.

She breathed in, and exhaled.

 

_Dust filter through sunbeams, the image of destruction interrupting the serenity of it all._

_White animal ears on dark hair. A crackle of sickly green lighting lights the room._

_Pink, bright eyes stare down at her, full of laughter and mirth._

_Smooth white face, luminescent in the dark._

_Cackling, and the tapping of canes._

_Black pool balls._

 

The visions swirled in her head, creating a feeling of what was to come. They were different from other visions, as if they were _meant_ to happen, but Rose didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.

The roof door was slammed open, snapping Rose out of her reverie. Her eyes cut over to John, who was emerging from the doorway.

“Hey Rose! Everyone’s been looking for you-” He stopped in mid-sentence, his eyes widening as he nearly tripped over his own feet in a double-take.

“You’re GLOWING!” he yelped.

"Yes, it's the moisturizer I use," Rose answered drily, rolling her eyes. “I’m not really in the mood for jokes right now, because I’m doing something _very_ important right now.”

“I’m _not_ joking!” he yelled. Gesturing at all of her, he said “You’re _literally_ glowing!”

Rose looked down at herself, and oh.

 

_Oh._

 

It was like a white fire had enveloped her, only it didn’t burn. It was pleasantly nice, casting a soft glow. Rain had just started to sprinkle, but didn’t seem to evaporate in the heat of the flames, as if she wasn’t giving off any.

“I guess if the superhero business didn’t work out, I could always go into the nightlight business,” Rose mused, inspecting herself.

John rolled his eyes. “I’m glad that you can find the time to joke about it, you just said this isn’t a joking matter! How long have you been able to do this?”

She shrugged nonchalantly. “Just now, I suppose.”

John still looked slightly apprehensive, and he approached Rose cautiously, as if he was afraid he might get burned if he got too close. Carefully, he stuck a hand close enough to touch one of the flames, but pulled it out quickly.

“Did it hurt?” Rose asked curiously.

He shook his head. “No. But I thought it would.” He slowly put his hand back in the flames, waving it around aimlessly. “It’s actually kinda tingly. But still, you’re _glowing!”_

John seemed to have calmed down a bit, and he started inside. “I think Mr. Harley would like to know what’s going on with all…-” he gestured vaguely to the entirety of her “-...this.”

Rose nodded in agreement, briefly brushing against John as she made her way in, contact that lasted for mere moments.

But in those mere moments, she saw everything.

A rush of visions and what couldn’t exactly be called prophecies filled her head, all begging, _crying,_ for attention. They swirled around faster than she could see them, and yet they were so imperceptibly clear. Some had already happened, and some would never come true, but they were still there and she could feel and see and smell and taste them all.

Not to be cliche, but it felt like her head was going to explode. She shoved him away, desperate to make it stop.

John gave her a slightly confused look. “What happened? Why’d you push me?”

Rose inhaled deeply before she answered, savoring her first deep breath of not-quite clean air. “You’re not going to understand, but when you brushed up against me, I saw what might’ve been your entire life.

John furrowed his brows. “That sounds weird. Did I still have hair when I was old?”

“You did, and it was,” Rose replied. “Did you happen to see or feel anything, or was it entirely on my end of the spectrum?”

“It’s just you. I didn’t feel a thing.” John took a step back. “So, I guess, everytime we touch, you get this feeling?”

“Essentially.”

“So if we kissed, you’d swear you could fly?” John suggested, waggling his eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

Rose smacked him in the arm almost immediately. “You stop right there! I cannot _believe_ you just said that to me!”

“It’s payback!“ John cackled. “Besides, you would’ve done the same thing if I didn’t think of it first!”

Rose glared at him, but he definitely was right.  She was just upset because she didn’t think of it first.

“Anyways,” John continued, “I’ll just keep away from you from now on, or at least until this glowy thing goes away.”

They traveled down to John's apartment, and Rose dropped herself on the sofa while John sent a message to Jacob explaining everything that was going down.

“Ok, so I talked to Mr. Harley, and he said he’s gonna be right down to the training grounds after his meeting is over,” John said, rubbing his chin.  “So now we have about 26 minutes to figure out how to sneak you down.”  

“Why not just walk me down?” Rose suggested. “We’d say that Jade tried something out, and they’d probably believe us.”

John shook his head. “No, they know me and you too well. They’d think we’re trying to pull a prank and get suspicious.”

“Curse our affinity to pranksterdom,” Rose said drily, shaking a fist in mock anger.

“Curse it indeed.”

Rose stroked her chin with her thumb. “What if we pretended to be Jacob and request one of his secretaries.”

“Neither of us have a voice deep enough to sound like Mr. Harley,” John pointed out.

“Or jovial enough, you’re right.”

“Plus,” John continued, “even if we got Dave in on this because he's an _amazing_ impressionist, he’d say something that’d blow our cover. I don’t know how, but he’s _never_ been able to stick to a script.” He sat down in the armchair, propping his head on his fist. “It’d be funny if it didn’t get me into trouble so many times,” he mused, more to himself.

They fell quiet, thinking.

Rose hummed in thought. “We could just _kill_ the secretaries.”

“NO!”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Well, how about _you_ come up with an idea and I shoot it down instead? I’m tired of coming up with all of these apparently _horrible_ suggestions when you haven’t come up with a single one.”

“It’s not my fault that your plans have so many flaws! After all, we can’t just _cover up_ the murders,” John replied drily. Suddenly, something dawned on him, and snapped his fingers like he had an idea. Without any explanation, he ripped the sheets off his bed and draped them over Rose.

“There!” John said, looking pleased with himself. “That hides your glow, and now we can say you’re cosplaying as a ghost or something.”

“John,” Rose began flatly.

“What?”

“I can’t see.”

John grimaced. “I have a feeling you’re being petty.”

“No, you would know if I was being petty. But I genuinely cannot see.” She pulled the sheet off her head, and passed it back to John. “Unless you would like me to visit the clinic again, I think you’re going to have to cut holes in this.”

He rolled his eyes, mumbling something unintelligible before he left to presumably cut holes in the sheet. While he was gone, Rose took this time to examine his room in depth. The few times she had been here before, it was scarcely decorated, and John complained about his dad taking his time sending up his stuff. It was mostly clean, a few posters here, a colorful action figure there. It was weirdly _average_ , giving her the feeling that if she searched the closet, she wouldn’t even find a dead body or anything to shatter the image of normalcy. Utterly insane.

John returned, holding a completely different bedsheet this time. “This one has eyeholes,” he explained, holding it up so she could see them. “So now you’ll be able to see through instead of blindly stumbling everywhere. We wouldn’t want a repeat of what happened last time you were blind.”

“It wasn’t my fault that a _certain someone_ wouldn’t listen to some _very helpful words,”_ Rose remarked sarcastically.

“We got beat by Jade and Dave, and they _both_ couldn’t see. So, yeah, it kind of _is_ your fault that you didn’t listen to me!”

“I was trying to lean on my aspect!”

“You barely believed it _was_ your aspect!”

Rose rolled her eyes, and snatched the blanket away from him. “It doesn’t even matter.” Holding it up to inspect, she said “What does matter is that this is an _entirely_ different sheet.”

He shrugged. “I know. This one already had holes.”

“You have a ghost costume just _laying around?”_ Rose asked, increasingly suspicious.

“This is not up for discussion” John snapped. “Maybe some guys enjoy running around the house dressed as a ghost! Don’t shame them for that!”

“Okay, okay!” Rose held her hands up in defense.  “I didn’t think you’d be so _sensitive_ about your ghost kink.”

John groaned, rubbing his temples. “I regret ever deciding to help you.”

“If it helps, I never really did ask for help,” Rose pointed out semi-helpfully. “You just came by and did your John-thing and I went along for the ride, making appropriately snarky comments along the way.” She slipped the sheet over her head. It was a bit long, pooling around her ankles and she made a mental note to try to not trip.

She posed in what she deemed a flirtatious enough manner. “Well, John? Does this turn you on?”

He rolled his eyes, and transportalized down to the lobby. Rose followed him down, because what was he expecting, a brief reprieve from their bickering? He’d be better off trying to find that on an entirely different planet, and even so Rose would eventually track him down. 

“Act normal,” John stage-whispered when she arrived, peering around the corner of the room.

Rose rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’m going to act perfectly normal while wearing a sheet over my head. It’s going to be the absolute easiest thing in the world and _no one_ will suspect a thing,” she deadpanned.

John gave her a look, and continued walking. “We just have to make it past the secretary. As long as it’s not one of those nosy old ladies, we’ll be ok, and you can take that off."

To Rose’s and John’s utmost dismay, it was not one of the chiller ladies, but instead the most uptight secretary to ever grace the lobby of Harley Labs. Really, it didn’t make much sense that a large amount of the people responsible for greeting potential clients were the crankiest people alive.

“Just act cool,” John whispered, ushering Rose along. “Maybe she feels nice today.”

 

Wrong.

 

The secretary caught sight of John immediately, almost like she was _waiting_ for him to step foot on the freshly waxed floor.

“What are you two doing here?” she screeched. _“Lalonde, is that you under that bedsheet?!”_

Before Rose could say anything that could blow their cover (and believe her, she was just about to), John clamped a hand over her mouth and beamed the secretary one of his widest smiles.

“We’re just trying out a cosplay for a convention coming up!” he said, discreetly shoving Rose along before she could pry his hand away from her mouth and say anything that is frankly, too horrible to repeat. “I think it looks good, don’t you?”

The secretary eyed them suspiciously, before she turned away from them, grumbling something about those “damn kids and their damn shenanigans.”

Quickly, John pushed Rose into the safety of the hidden nook leading to the grounds.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her be that nice before,” John said.

Rose shrugged. “She smiled once at me.”

John’s eyes widened in shock. “No way.”

They both heard Jacob's heavy clomping in the lobby, and heard the secretary say hello to him in the most disgustingly sweet way possible. Rose gagged, and John snickered.

Finally, Jacob turned the corner. He didn’t bat an eye at Rose’s sheets, merely removed his glasses, leaning in close to the door for identification.

“That’s quite a fancy get-up you’re sporting there,” he mused, never blinking as the green ray scanned his retinas.

“Courtesy of John,” Rose replied, pulling off the sheet as subtly waggling her eyebrows in the direction of a very unamused John. “Without his preparedness and ingenuity, I’m not sure how we would’ve made it down unspotted.”

“Pish posh,” Jacob scoffed. “You all could’ve come down glowing like a candle on Christmas and the secretaries wouldn’t have asked any questions. That’s the one of the only reasons I hired them, of course.”

 

Rose and John shared a look.

 

The ray retracted, and the door slid open with a hiss, leading to the Cursed Stairs of Doom (though now that Rose didn’t have to jog down 34 flights of stairs behind an irritable AI, she supposed she could just call it Stairs of Doom instead, and save her curses for later).

“What’s going on with Rose, like, why is she on fire?” John asked. “Is she gonna be like this forever or something?”

Jacob chuckled, shaking his head. “No, she’ll only be like this for another hour at the most. Simply put, she unlocked her god-tier.”

John and Rose shared a look.

“What do you mean ‘god-tier’?” John questioned. “Is she permanently ulting, like in Overwatch or something?”

“Essentially,” Jacob answered, reaching the bottom of the stairs. “During times of duress, your aspect can grant you an extreme amount of power for a short period of time.” He pressed his hand up to the door, and with a brief scan, it opened.

He raised an eyebrow at Rose, and stepped inside. “And I’m sure you’ve been incredibly stressed.”

John and Rose followed him inside, and the door slid closed behind them.

“Is there anything you want to do?” Jacob asked. Glancing briefly at his watch, he said “You have about 55 minutes left of your god-tier.”

Rose pursed her lips in thought. “I’d like to try some of the Felt, just to get an idea of what exactly I can do.”

“Smart thinking!” Jacob said, tapping his head. “What better way to measure your abilities than in a controlled environment?”

He ushered John into the viewing room, and with a small nod of his head, he closed the door behind him.

Inside the locker room, Rose mused whether or not she was overestimating her aspects abilities. She tugged at her arm in an effort to stretch them, because in all honesty it would’ve been embarrassing to end up pulling something while trying to look cool.

Perhaps she’d only be able to tell the future while she was godtier. While she hasn’t fully tested out her needle ability yet, that only happened when she was grimdark, or at least post-grimdark. She wasn’t actually aware of what was going on until after she had gone grimdark, so it could have been possible that her needles didn’t shoot bolts of lightning while she was grimdark-ing, though that would’ve been dumb. At least she was in a safe environment where she could test her powers beforehand.

With a final stretching pull of her body, she grabbed her needles and left the locker room.

“I’ve sent out an Itchy,” Jacob said into the microphone. “He’s not too difficult if you know what you’re doing, but he is a tad unpredictable, so be careful.”

Rose nodded. “Will do.” The comm shut off, and the android meant to simulate Itchy stepped out from the wall. He began to vibrate, and set off in a yellow blur.

Briefly, it was almost like time slowed down. Calculations and likelihoods and percentages filled her head as she watched the android, giving her a good idea of what was going to happen next. She tossed likely scenario’s around in her head, gauging just how effective they’d be before she settled down on one.

 

So, carefully, she stuck out her leg.  

 

Time resumed, and the Itchy tripped, because for all its speed its thinking was dreadfully slow. While it struggled to regain its balance, Rose pulled her leg back in and stabbed a needle into its back in one deft motion.

John lost his shit in the comms. “Did you just see that!” he yelled, a chair falling in the background. “That was the coolest fucking thing _ever!”_

“John, please! Try to be quiet!” Jacob cried in exasperation, turning down the volume in Rose’s comm. “And watch your language!”

Rose cracked a smile. “Thanks. I’m glad I look cool to everyone else besides myself.”

 _“Shit yeah!_ The way that you just fucking tripped that guy up like it wasn’t even a big deal and then you just _slammed_ your needle in his back without even breaking a sweat is like _whoa!_ And this was in the span of like a second! I should’ve gotten in on camera so you could see it too!”

“Don’t worry John, every training session is recorded so I can look back to see if I’ve missed anything we need to work on,” Jacob informed him. “Plus, I’m sure the lovely Ms. Lalonde isn’t quite finished.”

Rose smirked. “You flatterer. I’m sure this is just to butter me up so that I’ll do more of these so-called amazing stunts.”

Jacob chuckled. “You’re not wrong. However, would you mind doing a few more, just for the sake of science?”

Rose shrugged. “Why not? I’d like to know what my god-tier limits are, and I’d like to see myself being badass as well.”

“Fantastic!”

After Rose’s multiple stunts of complete and totally badassery too awesome to describe, John exited (read: almost broke open the door to) the viewing room, gushing about how cool she looked and how psyched he is to tell everyone about the complete and total awesomeness Rose just showed. He nearly grabbed one of her shoulders in excitement, but he stopped himself immediately as Rose pulled back instinctively.

“Sorry,” he apologized. “I think I got too caught up in the moment.”

Rose shrugged, giving him a forgiving smile. “It’s no big deal, and you stopped yourself.”

To Jacob, she asked “Is there anything else you want me to do?”

Jacob shook his head. “These are your powers, I’ll let you explore them in whatever time we have left!”

Rose bit her lip, thinking. Turning to John, she asked “How do you feel about knowing your powers ahead of time?”

“That’d be cool!” John said. “I want to know beforehand so I can rub it in Dave’s face when he realizes I got a cool power while he didn’t.”

“Albeit, I don’t know much about the Light aspect, but I do know that in a non-combat situation your god-tier can divine answers from sustained contact from a person and incredible focus,” Jacob volunteered. “Do you want to try and see if you can ascertain John’s aspect? I’ve already got an idea of what they might be, but I do want to see if my hypothesis is right.”

Rose nodded. “It couldn’t hurt to try.”

She extended her pinky, and John hooked it with his own.

 

Again, the visions flooded in, only there was a smidgen of familiarity. Some of them were new, but most of them she had seen at least once. It was difficult, to keep holding on and deciphering what exactly was going on. When she pressed for answers, the visions became skittish and danced away from her, as if she was only supposed to look and not touch. But, if she waited for them to come to her, then they exploded in front of her eyes in a medley of colors, their meanings becoming clear as day.

 

Slowly, but surely, a theme started to emerge.

She unhooked her pinky from John’s, and wiped her slightly sweaty hand on her leg.

“Well?” Jacob asked, a hopeful note in his words. “Did you find out?”

Rose nodded, “It took a while, but I think I’ve managed to figure it out.”

“What is it?” John asked eagerly. “Don’t leave me hanging like this, dude.”

She turned towards him, staring deep into his eyes. “John,” she began sagely.

“Yeah?”

“Your aspect is perhaps the coolest in the world.”

“Okay, cool, but what is it?”

“I’m actually a bit envious of your abilities, but nonetheless I’m glad they’re going to bestowed upon you.”

“I feel like you’re purposefully dodging the question. Are they lame?”

“Of course not, they’re amazing.”

“So what are they?”

“I’m getting to that part. Honestly John, you’re so impatient sometimes.”

“I wouldn’t be so impatient if you weren’t purposefully dodging my questions. You’re making them seem like they’re dumb or something? _Are_ they dumb?”

“No, like I’ve already said, they’re quite marvelous gifts. Are you really even listening to me, or will I have to repeat myself the entire time, because if I’m going to have to repeat myself, then there’s really no point in telling in the first place.”

“For pete’s sake _fucking tell me!”_

Rose smirked, and paused. Finally, with a grand flourish of her hand to her head as if she was summoning the answer from her mind, she said “You’ll have the ancient and arcane power of……. _arachnid manipulation.”_

John blinked, briefly comprehending her words. Jacob choked in surprise, but he caught onto the inside joke quickly and started to laugh.

John dragged his hands down his face, uttering a low “ _fuuuuuuuck you.”_

Rose cracked a smile. “I’m sure you’ll grow to love them.”

“Can you _please,_ for the love of all things good, tell me what I’m getting?”

Rose sighed, and relented. “You’ll be able to create and manipulate wind. I already have an idea about how I might be able to unlock it for you.”

John brightened. “Really?”

“Yes, but I’m not exactly thrilled about it as it involves rather _intense_ maneuvering,” Rose replied, grimacing. “We’ll wait a few days to see if they’ll naturally unlock themselves without resorting to drastic measures.”

John grimaced as well, perhaps even moreso than Rose. “If _you_ , of all people, think they’re drastic, then by all means please wait until the last possible minute,” he agreed. “In fact, you might want to wait even further than the last possible minute, just in case!”

Rose glared at him. “I’m offering a _service._ A break-glass-when-needed service, yes, but a service nonetheless.”

John rolled his eyes. “I’m just saying, you’re a very dramatic and extreme person.”

Rose scoffed. “As if-”

“REGARDLESS,” Jacob interrupted loudly, “We’ll keep you in mind Rose if push comes to shove, but hopefully John will unlock his aspect in less than dire means.”

He began to usher them outside. “Rose, I suggest you get yourself in a bed soon,” Jacob offered. “Your body is under a lot of physical exertion right now.”

“I don’t even feel tired,” Rose replied. “Not to be cliche, but I literally feel like I could run a marathon.”

“That’s the adrenaline your aspect cooked up,” Jacob explained. “It’s chemical composition is that of 3 espressos dumped into an energy drink cocktail, so trust me, you’ll crash _hard._ By this time tomorrow, I doubt you’ll even be awake!”

* * *

 Rose opened her eyes groggily, her head pounding. Something soft was under her, and something warm was on top, and the last thing she remembered was leaving the training grounds.

Bright green eyes peered into hers. “Morning sunshine!”

Rose groaned, pulling her pillow over her head, previous events coming back to her. “How long have I been out?”

Jade shrugged. “At least a day. Once John told us about your glowing thing, I came up here and found you already passed out.” She pouted. “I didn’t even get to see you glow or anything.”

Rose lowered the pillow, raising a slow eyebrow. “I”m glad you care about me so much,” she replied drily.

Jade rolled her eyes, and got up from the bed. “I _do_ care, it’s that the glowing thing wouldn’t been super cool to see! Also, Grandpa brought up some training tapes."

"Tapes?"

Jade shrugged. "I don’t know why he insists on using cassettes, they’re so old!”

“Perhaps he likes the novelty,” Rose suggested. “They summon up an old sense of nostalgia.”

“Maybe,” Jade said, rummaging around in Rose’s kitchen. “Anyways, I had something made for you so that you’d have something to eat when you woke up, but then I got hungry and you didn’t seem to be waking up anytime soon, soooo…...”

“So you ate it.”

“Again, I was hungry! Be glad it wasn’t cookies, or I would’ve made a _really_  shitty joke.”

Rose got herself up from the bed, stumbling towards the kitchen. She snagged an apple from a fruit bowl that had mysteriously appeared next to the small stack of VHS tapes while she was out, and dropped herself on the nearest barstool.

“I kind of already started watching the tapes, but they’re kind of boring,” Jade said. “Plus, I could already tell you what happened in training anyways, considering I was, y’know, _there.”_

Rose propped herself up on her elbows, tiredly lifting an intrigued eyebrow. “Do tell.”

“Well….” Jade tapped her chin in thought. ”We kept working on Felt technique, only Grandpa upped their strength to 30 percent from our usual 20, so I’m kinda sore right now. They weren’t that hard to beat, but some of us got hurt more easily than others.” She coughed John’s name in a conspicuously loud manner.

Rose sighed. “I’m guessing John was more reckless than usual during training.”

Jade nodded. “He’s usually so careful! I don’t know what’s gotten into him.”

“I told him I’d be able to unlock his aspect through drastic measures, and I guess he put two and two together.” She munched on her apple thoughtfully. “I don’t even know what he’s thinking. I can only predict the future, not resuscitate the dead.”

Jade nodded in agreement. “Mhmm.

Rose glanced back towards the stack of tapes. “I’m not too excited to watch through all of them. I knew I was going to be out of action for awhile, but I certainly didn’t think I’d be sleeping for a days on end.”

“You only slept through a day, so there should only really only be about two sessions worth of tapes,” Jade explained. “However, John did a whole bunch of extra training in-between, which actually makes more sense in context.”

Rose jumped off the barstool. "I should make sure he's alright, at least just enough so that he won't die once I unlock his powers."

Jade brightened immediately. "Ooh, can I come? I want to see you unlock his powers!"

"I'm actually sure that you just want to see me yell at him for being a dumbass."

Jade shook her head, picking up an orange to inspect it. "Dave already did that, and seeing that twice would be boring. I really just want to see the process, and maybe you'll glow again!"

Rose patted Jade on the cheek. "Sorry, but no, you still can't come. We're going to be doing something too dangerous for you to get involved."

"Fine, whatever, I guess I'll just have to watch from the sidelines like some  _common person,"_ Jade moaned, picking at the orange skin. "Try not to die doing whatever you're doing!"

Rolling her eyes, Rose waved goodbye as she transportalized down to the John’s apartment.

Once she touched down in his apartment, there was only one goal her mind. It was time for the hammer to smash the emergency glass. But, her plan will require finesse, as there was a high chance that John would probably flip his shit if he knew what Rose was planning.

Still, if push comes to shove she’s willing to do what she has to do.   

John was busy baking something, though Rose didn’t know exactly what. She didn’t even know why he actually baked anything, considering he made it clear that he doesn’t like baked goods. However, she wasn’t complaining, since his double chocolate cake was to _die_ for.

“So Jade told me you were trying to unlock your aspect,” Rose began, leaning against the counter.

John shrugged, cracking four eggs into a bowl. “I wanted to see if I could do it myself.”

Rose raised an eyebrow. “You do realize you nearly incapacitated yourself multiple times. I’m surprised Jacob hasn’t come in to yell at you for the dumbassery of your actions.”

“He has, I just told him I was off my game.”

“And he just _believed_ you?” she asked, suspicous.

“Hey, I’m a _very_ trustworthy person,” John said, shaking a whisk angrily at her. “Mr. Harley won’t care if I tell him a white lie every now and then if I normally tell the truth.”

Rose scowled. “It must feel nice to start with a clean slate, hmm?” she asked, slightly bitter. Certainly, if she tried to do any of the multiple stunts John pulled in the past day she wouldn’t hear the end of Harley’s tirades about the foolhardiness of her youth until she was old, wrinkly, and a breath away from death.

John gave her a wink. “It is.”

He opened a cabinet, and grabbed several bottles of extracts. “One of the greatest things about living here is that I can get ridiculous shit and no one will bat an eye," he said, changing the subject. "I don’t even know if this stuff is any good!”

He spread them out in front of Rose. “What flavor are you feeling today?”

Rose tapped her chin in a thoughtful manner. “Lemon and mint. I’m feeling a bit adventurous today.”

“That’s an _interesting_ choice,” John said, pursing his lips in a definitely disapproving manner. It didn’t matter though, as he sprinkled a few drops into the batter, and stirred it briefly.

“John, do you trust me?” Rose asked in what she hoped was a casual manner. Really, she was looking for an opening, and she found one. Single thoughts were still in mind.

“Yeah,” John answered immediately. “Why wouldn’t I? I mean, you have weird tastes like _citrus_ and _mint,_ but I’m sure that’s a way to get on my nerves, so I’ll be sure to gift the entire cake to you.” As an afterthought, he added “Y’know, it’s weird how much we purposefully fight each other.”

“It’d certainly be easier to get along with you if you never questioned anything I said,” Rose replied. “For someone who almost always follows orders, you’re surprisingly skeptical about them.”

“You have given me more than enough reason to be skeptical,” John pointed out. “Do you remember the pie thing, because _I_ do, and I’ll never forgive you for it.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “If it helps, looking back on it has to be hilarious. I’m not sure if the lab hands will ever actually get the smell out of the physics lab.”

“Still not forgiven.”

“It doesn’t matter. How close are you to finishing your cake?”

John grabbed a pan, and spooned out the batter. “About 45 minutes. Why do you ask?”

Rose shrugged. “No particular reason. Is there any chance you can step away for possibly ten minutes.”

John nodded, setting his stove timer. “Yeah, unless my cake super bakes or something. What’s up?”

Rose grabbed the batter spoon, and swiped a bit of batter off of it. “I need you to follow me.” She stuck the uncooked batter in her mouth, and gagged in disgust. Her adventurous spirit did not reward.

“I already told you I was giving that to you, right?” John asked, dusting his hands off on his shirt. “Lead the way.”

On the roof, Rose asked John again if he trusted her.

“You keep asking me that, and it’s still the same answer,” he huffed. “Seriously, do you have something planned? Are you going to throw a cake in my face, because if you do there will be _hell_ to pay.”

“I just need to make sure, and no, I’m not going to jeopardize my life by trying to up my pranksters gambit,” Rose replied. Changing the subject, she asked. “Now, if I hurt you on purpose, but it was to make you a better person, would our friendship remain intact?”

John grimaced. “You’re asking some really _weird_ questions right now.”  He thought for a few moments, and said “Yeah, we’d still be friends, but I wouldn’t want it to happen again.”

“Good. It’ll only happen once.”

Nervously, John stepped away from her. “What’ll happen once?”

Rose stepped backwards, her heel gracing the edge of the roof. “This.”

Taking a deep breath, she fell backwards.

* * *

 

“ROSE WHAT THE _FUCK!”_ John hollered, jumping after her immediately without thinking. Rose was glad that John did things without hesitation, otherwise her plan would’ve been severely compromised.

“TRY THINKING LIGHT THOUGHTS,” she shouted back.

Frantically, John squeezed his eyes shut.

After a few moments, Rose started to get a little bit worried. She suspected that John might’ve passed out, and she began to doubt if she’d actually survive her fall. Her aspect gave her a pretty high survival rate, but perhaps she should’ve waited before she jumped feet first (literally).

She looked back up at John and noticed that he had just…

Stopped.

His eyes snapped open. “I CAN FLY!”

Rose gave him a thumbs up, and then glanced towards the ground, which seemed to be approaching at a much faster rate than usual. John dove, and caught her before she was an unfortunately beautiful splatter on the sidewalk. He floated down to the ground, and set her down gently.

“Rose, what the _hell_ were you thinking?” he asked bewilderedly, running several hands through his hair exasperatedly.  

Rose shrugged. “You wanted to your powers, I gave them to you.”

“But it was _dangerous!”_

“We signed up for danger when we agreed to join Harley’s taskforce,” Rose pointed out. “I’m sure we’ll face more dangerous things than falling off a roof.”

“I guess.” John didn’t look entirely convinced.

He glanced down at his hands, a new light in his eyes. Experimentally, he flexed them, and a slight breeze tousled a few leaves.

“Cool,” he whispered under his breath. Turning to Rose, he said “I gotta go show this off!”

He ran off, cackling with glee. Rose walked to a nearby bench and sat down. Adrenaline had run its course, and now all she felt was tired. Her thoughts drifted towards the visions she saw before she godtiered.

What did they mean? Though they were so imperceptibly clear, she couldn’t extract any relevant meaning from them. It felt like a recap of previous events, only they were in the future and currently didn’t make any sense. Rose wasn’t entirely sure if they had beat back the grimdark or if it was a temporary fix.

What do they lead up to? Were they important, or should she ignore them? Perhaps she should talk to Jacob about it, considering-

Her phone vibrated, interrupting her thoughts. Annoyed, she opened her notifications.

\--uranianUmbra [UU] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT]--

UU: hUllo there!

UU: it has come to my attention that yoU’re going to try and go up against [REDACTED]

UU: oh shoot!!! i guess he really did filter my messages!!

UU: nevertheless, i mUst warn yoU.

UU: trying to defeat him is of no Use, so i sUggest yoU give Up immediately and perhaps retUrn to yoUr home and forget that this whole mess happened! otherwise, yoU’d jUst die, and i rather like yoU!!

TT: Who are you?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohohohoho.......a mysterious person..... ~~(we all know who it is smh)~~
> 
> oh and apparently falling 34 stories takes about four seconds so the whole john and rose falling off the building is very unrealistic but lets be real thats the most realistic thing here.
> 
> this was a LOT of thinking and talking and feeling. i mean, that's stuff is supposed to be there, it just feels super Extra this chapter, but it was fun. a bit angsty sometimes, but fun!
> 
> rose and john being little shits towards each other is perhaps the Funniest Thing in the Entire Universe. i dont even know why they fight so much, it just happens sometimes.


	10. ACTION FILM - HTE MOIVE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The call to action can be a cool one, but sometimes it's a crazed old man telling you that everything's on fucking fire and that you need to get your asses out immediately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> enjoy!!!
> 
> edit: this has been rewritten!

Thankfully, the rest of the group gained their aspect around the time John gained. Rose was more than happy about it, because as soon as John started using his aspect openly, she hasn’t had a single moment without constantly being bugged by the rest of their group. and she was getting pretty annoyed. She had started to run out of hiding spaces, and camping out in the biology labs had started to look like a tantalizing option.

However, after a few extremely violent shenanigans that Rose may or may not have been involved in, Jade and Dave finally received their own powers. Or their aspects unlocked. Really, the terminology Jacob had used to describe it was confusing and forgettable.

John was beginning to perfect how he controlled the wind, probably because he used it every chance he got. Very early on he found out that he could become intangible like wind itself, but only for very short periods of time (he also found out that he would pass out after a few seconds of intangibility, making the day distressing for everybody).

After a training simulator gone horribly, horribly downhill, Dave developed the ability to time travel in order to save John from getting hit by an explosion of a faulty training robot. At the most, he could travel up to a week, but he usually only went back a few hours or so to have what he called “some radical motherfucking hangs with myself.”

Jade found out she could teleport after almost getting hit by a car after a shopping trip gone wrong though she was more happy about the fact that she unlocked her aspect than the fact that she survived. She could also change the size of things in drastic proportions, and had very, _very_ slight telekinesis, the most she could move being an apple, and just a few inches in the air.  

Rose was content in her progress, making strides in the exploration of her aspect. She’d already found ways to hone the numbers constantly running in her brain from thousands of inconsequential streams down to a few essential rivers. And thankfully, the grimdark had receded to a quiet corner of her mind. Though she could still feel it lurking, it hadn’t made any moves against her since she went godtier. If that was a bad thing, she didn’t know, but she was grateful for a reprieve.

In between the intensive training and other superpowered shenanigans, Rose hardly noticed that it was September, and school had already started up again. Briefly she entertained the notion of approaching Jacob about this, but she laughed and promptly tossed it into her brain garbage bin. After all, it wasn’t like Rose particularly _wanted_ to go back to school, and since she was busy with things that she deemed infinitely more important than her measly education in private school, she decided that she just wouldn’t go this year. If the Harley’s remembered a thing like public education exists and that they were accidentally on purpose depriving her of it, they’d just make a sizable enough donation to shut up the headmaster and leave it at that.

Now that their aspects had started to take shape, Jacob finally merged combat training and aspect training together, focusing more on aspect than combat.

“Y’know John, it’s pretty fucking _weird_ how skilled you are at martial arts,” Dave said, panting (but barely). “You’re barely breaking a sweat.”

John shrugged. “I mean, you know my dad taught me.” He effortlessly dodged one of Dave’s blows, and reciprocated with an expertly executed kick to the shin.

“Yeah I know that, but what I wanna know is what the _hell_ did your dad teach you?”

“Bit of this, a whole lotta that. I probably know only about…” he paused, searching for his answer as he easily caught Dave in a mock-chokehold. “...6 forms of martial arts?”

He let go, and Dave held his hands up in timeout. “What the hell do you mean you only know _six_ forms dude?”

John furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Didn’t everyone do karate when they were younger?”

“Oh, they did,” Rose answered. “But, everyone also gave up in the first year after becoming disillusioned about the rigors of following the path of the ninja.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” John said. “I always thought that once karate and taekwondo started getting too easy, your parents would step in and teach you more!”

“Nope!” Jade chirped. “Why do you think we’re here John? It’s because our parents _didn’t_ teach us anything!”  

John ran a hand through his hair bewilderedly, dropping in between Rose and Jade on the bench near the sidelines. “Wow,” he whispered dumbfoundedly. “I can’t believe this.”

“I understand your plight,” Rose comforted, patted him on the back. “I too had to realize at a certain age that some things that happened in my home just weren’t what a sane mother does.” Jade glared at Rose over the top of John’s head, but Rose pretended to ignore it.

John shook his head. “No, it’s not that.”

Jade’s eyebrows knotted together slowly. “What is it then?”

John looked up, a wide grin on his face. "What I’m saying is I can’t believe you all fell for that!” he cackled loudly. "I got you all _good!"_

Jade rolled her eyes. “I can’t _believe_ you would do that to us John! We give you our sympathy for having a weird-ass family, and you make it backfire on us!”

“ _I_ can’t believe you guys thought I thought my dad teaching me a bajillion forms was _normal!”_ John countered. “I mean, I know you all have fucked up definitions, but c’mon! You all made it so _easy!”_

Jade shoved him off the bench.

* * *

Later that day, Jacob called them all down for an impromptu meeting. Or, up, as whatever he wanted to talk about was in the labs, which was above them.

If you had to explain the labs at Harley Labs using only one word, it would be this:

Bizarre.

You never actually quite had an idea of what anybody was working on until they finished and presented it, but even then you might not have the briefest clue. Many of the scientists had been working there for years, but they all looked as fresh-faced as the day they came in (minus a couple of eyebrows, of course). The only restriction in the labs was that whatever you were working on couldn’t explode so horribly that it interfered with another person’s work, but if your explosion managed to further someone else's work, then you get a pass.

Thankfully, the labs that Rose and co. were heading towards were not those labs. The labs they were headed to was just the polishing, where you would go once your invention was fully cleared and just needed a bit of spiffing up. No explosions allowed, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

Rose spotted Jacob through one of the presentation lab windows, and grimaced as she noticed the hologram of Neytiri.

Jade stepped aside, gesturing for Dave to do the honors of kicking down the door, of which he did while loudly announcing they had arrived. Rose didn’t actually know when the tradition of brutalizing doors actually started, but most of the doors in the building had begun to bear the mark of Dave Striders size twelve footprint. It remains unquestioned for now.

“Well, I’ve seen you’ve made it up!” Jacob greeted, ushering them in excitedly. “Care to see what I’ve got in store for you?"

“Well, duh, Grandpa,” Jade said cheerfully. “It’s not like we just came up just to see you or anything!” She hugged him tightly, planting a small kiss on the side of his cheek.

Looking over the top of Jade’s head, Jacob asked “Do you want to begin, or should I?”

“I’ll do it, as you’re currently busy reminiscing with your next of kin as if you don’t see each other everyday,” Neytiri said drily. She brought out a large box, and began distributing smaller boxes each wrapped with their own individual flairs so that you could very obviously tell who’s was who’s. Rose supposed that even though Neytiri wasn’t exactly solid, there were probably parts of her that were more solid than others, like her hands. Useful.

John shook his experimentally, listening to the soft shuffling inside. “What is it?”

“Use your _eyes_ John,” Dave said, already tearing into the package. He pulled out what looked to be a bodysuit, like the kind they used in training. “It’s obviously clothes for Christmas.”

“It’s your upgraded field armor,” Neytiri explained. “Obviously.”

“Is there a reason why our old equipment is getting replaced?” John asked. “I mean, they seemed perfectly fine last time we used them.”

“Your training armor was just that: training,” Jacob explained. “These are _much_ more than a bit of padding and bullet resistance. For example, they can absorb much more shock than normal.” He turned to Neytiri and asked “Dare I say they could survive a ten story fall in one of these?”

“Wow,” John said drily. “These really would’ve been helpful a few weeks back, huh Rose?”

“I did the best I could,” Rose replied drily. “It’s certainly not like I can see the future.”

John rolled his eyes, subtly flipping her off when the adults weren’t looking.

“There’s also a stealth mechanism in all of them,” Neytiri continued. She picked up the demonstration suit, and tapped on the collar twice. The white on it turned to black, and the grey accents darkened. “It’s to be used when going on missions in the dark or at night, though at the current rate of your progress I doubt you will be doing either any time soon.”

“Harsh,” Dave whispered.

Rose tapped on the collar experimentally. The orange darkened to black, and the yellow accents darkened to a deep gold. Tapping the collar once more, the suit lightened.

“Along with a stealth mode, they’re also bullet resistant, weatherproof, and comes with a handy tracking device in case one of you all gets lost!” Jacob added helpfully.

“This is so _cool!”_ John gushed. “I feel like a superhero! When are we trying these out?”

“The next time you train, so tomorrow,” Jacob answered. He noticed the look on John’s face and added “ _However,_ I might just leave the door unlocked so you all can get some extra practice in.”

John fistpumped in appreciation, and Dave rolled his eyes.

“One last thing before we all dismiss!” Neytiri said, gathering the retreating teenagers attention. “These are _not_ interchangeable, so even if you think you might look better in the red or the orange, don’t trade them around. They’ve each been modified for your own individual aspect, and your own aspect _alone._ ”

“What do they do?” Jade asked.

“Well, we’ve noticed that you tend you generate gigawatts of electricity every time you teleport, which tends to fry your suit and other electrical components,” Jacob pointed out.

Jade nodded enthusiastically. “I was wondering when you would fix that! I was sick of waiting for it to come back online every time I teleported!” She cut her eyes towards her grandfather, saying “And a _certain someone_ wouldn’t let me make my own modifications.”

“I’d rather have it be done under my protocols than my teenaged granddaughter’s explosive-friendly protocols,” Jacob replied wryly. “We did notice your components shorting out, which is why we added something to help absorb your extra electricity, and something _else_ to help you redirect that electricity outward!”

“I was thinking dampeners too, but I didn’t think about _releasing_ the energy!” Jade’s eyes sparkled. “I wanna go and _fry_ something now!”

Jacob gave the rest of the group look as if to say “See what I’m talking about?”

Turning to Dave, Jacob said “Your suit-or more specifically, your helmet-has a specially designed chronolog to keep track of how far you’ve time traveled to, the date and time you traveled back to, and the time you left. Even though you’ve already got a mental clock running in your head like most time aspects, we thought it’d be easier for you to keep track of time.”

Dave gave him a nod of appreciation. “Thanks.”

“What does mine do?” John asked excitedly.

“Your suit is made of a much lighter material than the rest so that you’ll be able to move more freely,” Jacob said. “Also, we’ve added a stronger air-filter to your helmet, so that you’re about as susceptible to smells and noises like any other regular human!”

John grimaced. “Is that all?”

“Really, your’s didn’t actually need that much improvement,” Jacob admitted. “We would’ve thought you didn’t want your senses to be overloaded, as your aspect is prone to do

“No, no, that part is cool, but is that _all?”_

Jacob rolled his eyes, and held his hands out for John’s suit. With a tap of a button on the right side of the collar instead of the left, a thin cape was rolled out. “Yes, we took your suggestions under consideration. To avoid any mishaps, we’ve made it easily detachable, but in a pinch, it’s thin enough so that a bit of force could tear it away from any snags.”

“Dude,” Dave said, elbowing John. “No capes.”

“Listen, if I’m going down, I’m going down in style,” John said.

“Yeah, but your _style_ might make you go down.”

“Please, if John is willing to die for fashion then I think we should respect that,” Rose said. “I, for one, admire his boldness. I think you’re just salty that your outfit doesn’t come with a cape.”

“Oh yeah, because being choked out by a cape is a really great way to go, thanks for showing me the light.”

Jacob stepped in the middle. “Before we go any further, I’d like to discuss the updates to Rose’s armor.” To Rose, he said “We decided to take a more literal approach to your armor. Your armor has the ability to produce gigawatts of light, capable of temporarily blinding everyone in a ten foot radius of you.

Rose elbowed Dave. “Now I can _really_ show you the light.”

Dave elbowed her back. “Nice try, but I’m already equipped with the coolest form of eye protection.”

“We’ve also added a feature that allows you to create hard light copies of weapons for a short period of time,” Jacob continued, motioning towards the both of them to shut up. “Just as make sure the schematics are uploaded into your visor beforehand.”

“How come she gets that and I don’t?” Dave asked.  

“Dave, I’m sure you and I are both aware that we couldn’t have passed up the opportunity to make a light pun,” Jacob answered. “Besides, have you ever heard of a hard _time_ copy?”

Dave scowled. “I’m pretty sure I have, actually,” he muttered.

Jacob pretended not to hear him as he took back the field suits. “That’s all for today though, but you’ll have the opportunity to take your new suits for a test drive soon enough!”

* * *

Two days later, everyone was hanging out inside of Jade’s lab, doing whatever friends do whenever they have some radical motherfuckin’ hangs. Not talking much, but definitely enjoying each other's presence. Chilling.

Rose propped herself up in an elaborately made pillowfort, mainly consisting of pillows stolen from Jade’s apartment. She read a novel of which would not be disclosed for now, or ever in the history of everything and anything. The Candy Crush™ soundtrack with occasional deep and resonant “ _SODALICIOUS_ ” provided a relaxing atmosphere of which to read.

“John, for the last time, put _down_ and _back away_ from the hydrochloric acid,” Jade hissed aggravatedly, never turning away from her newest invention she was tinkering with.

Rose poked her head out her fort. “Actually, he’s messing with the bubbly device, not the acid.”

Jade gave her a nasty glare. “I don’t care if he’s touching the carbonated uplinks or the acid or even the dry erase markers! He needs to learn basic scientary respect!”

“Don’t worry Jade, if something happens, Dave’ll just come back in time and yell at me,” John replied, poking a test tube and watching bubble over, eating through the table. He snuffed the resulting fire with his aspect quickly before anything major caught, and pretended like nothing happened.

Dave nodded. “Damn straight.”

Jade threw her hands up, groaning in frustration. She angrily returned her attention to the machine she was fixing up, scowling.

The room fell silent again, until there was an explosion that violently shook the basement.

All eyes turned to John immediately.

“It wasn’t me!” he cried, dropping whatever he was holding. “I wasn’t touching anything!”

 

Another explosion.

 

An alarm went off, loud and blaring. All of the numerous holo screens flashed with warnings in various languages.

“Please go to the designated safe areas,” a feminine voice ordered. It assumedly repeated the message again in Spanish, and another time in Japanese.

“What’s going on?” John asked.

Jade shrugged. “Maybe an explosion in the labs? They’ve never felt this big before.”

“It’s not the labs,” Rose answered. “Or, at least there’s a 89% chance that it’s not _just_ the labs.”

“Maybe a simultaneous biohazard up in the animal floor?” Jade suggested, thinking out loud. “No, that wouldn’t make sense either, they would’ve only locked down that floor, and there would’ve been a code green, not code red. Wait, what if one of the transportalizers overloaded?”

The klaxons and the alarms were suddenly silenced in the room, though they still blared loudly outside. One the largest holoscreen, Jacob appeared, his slightly mussed mustache the only indicator of his panic.

“What’s going on?” Jade asked. “Why is the building going on lockdown? Did something explode in the labs?”

“No, nothing drastic like that,” Jacob answered casually, propping his feet on his desk. “We’re just being invaded, is all.”

“ _INVADED?!”_ John cried loudly. “What do you mean we’re just being _invaded?”_

“You’re right John, invasion isn’t the correct word here,” Jacob agreed, stroking his facial hair in an attempt to smooth it down. “The Felt already finished the tedious invasion part of the plan, and now they’re more preoccupied with the task of finding you all. It’s more like a witch hunt!”

John ran a hand through his hair exasperatedly. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

Jacob shrugged. “You can take it anyway you personally like. However, does the idea of evacuation make you feel better?” Jacob asked.

“We’re retreating?” Dave asked.

Jacob made an “ _ehh”_ noise. “It’s not really considered retreating if you all never interact in the first place. Considering you all have just begun training, and the transportalizer servers are so thoroughly sabotaged that any backup coming in would be translocated anywhere but here, it’s the best chance we have.”

“Actually,” Rose piped up. “It’s not the best chance we have. I’ve only been running the numbers for a bit, but staying and fighting has a higher chance for, frankly, all of New York.”

Jacob raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

“Well, if we leave in a shuttle, what’s to stop the Felt from rampaging all through New York in an effort to find us? There’d be a higher number of deaths if they actually have to try to find us in a larger and more densely populated area,” Rose explained. “I’m also assuming that by the time we get to any other sort of evacuation shuttle, it would’ve been destroyed. So, we’d have to stay and fight anyways.”

Jacob sighed heavily. “I was afraid you were going to come to that conclusion.” Rubbing his temples, he said “I ask for a few moments alone with my granddaughter. Just want to say a few personal things, you know how it is.”

Rose nodded. “Of course. We’ll start forming a plan outside.” She ushered everybody else out, and shut the door just enough so that it looked like it was closed, but really it was open enough just so she could listen in.

“So, what’s the gameplan?” Dave asked.

Rose waved at him to be quiet. “Shh, I’m listening. I’ve already got a plan, so don’t worry.”

“Fine, alright, but if they bust down here and we all die, I’m shoveling all my blame on you like a coal miner working toward early retirement,” Dave grumbled, but he shut up.

Rose strained to hear the careful whispers inside, trying to pick up the traitorous bits and pieces that just so happened to escape the clutches of hushed confidentiality.

“Jade, you’re fully aware of what you are to do if I die?” Jacob asked seriously.

“I do, but you’re not planning on _dying,_ are you?” Jade answered, worriedly wringing her hands.

“Nothing of the sort,” Jacob replied. “I just don’t know if my plans are the same as everyone else's.“

“What do you mean?”

There was a silence, as if Jacob was trying to pick his words carefully. Finally, he said “Jade, _he’s_ here, and he’s hellbent on finding me. Thankfully, I don’t believe he’s going to come after you all, but I don’t expect to make it out alive.”

Jade nodded. “I-I understand. Jake knows, right? Is he gonna come home?”

“He’s aware, but I’m afraid he’s far too occupied to return,” Jacob said. “You understand.”

Jade nodded once again. “Of course.”

Jacob sighed. “I should go and get prepared. I love you.”

“Love you.”

The holocron shut off, but Jade didn’t get up just yet. Carefully, she took off her glasses, wiping her eyes. Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she replaced them, and got up. Rose shot away from the door, and towards the rest of the group.

“And that’s the plan!” she said as Jade began opening the door. She gave John and Dave a warning look, silently telling them that if they even suggest that Rose was listening in, they’d be in for hell on earth.

“Wait, what’s the plan?” Jade asked, confused. “How’d you guys get it done so quickly?”

“Well, you know Rose!” John chirped, while not so subtly glaring at her out the side of his eye. “Her aspect pretty much did _all_ the work!”

“Yes, it did,” Rose said, very quietly elbowing him in the side. “ _Anyways_ , Dave’s going back to see if he can stop the invasion from happening in the first place. If he can’t, he’s going to gather as much intel as he can and report back. Meanwhile, John’s going up to try and clear the air of as much smoke and dust as he can, and run recon as well.”

“What are you and I doing in the meantime?” Jade asked.

“We’re going up to the training grounds and getting ready,” Rose replied. “John and Dave will both meet us there.” She looked around at the group meaningfully. “Everyone is aware of their jobs, correct?”

They nodded, and on three they split off.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Jade whispered. She didn’t sound afraid, but more tiredly determined. Rose didn’t know what Jacob had in store for Jade in case he died, and she didn’t know how Jade felt about it. To Rose, it almost felt like she was sending her father to a war that the government had started for selfish gains, and everyone except the government knew it. Though it’d be a long time before Rose would admit it, but in these past years Jacob had definitely become some sort of father figure to her, or at least the eccentric yet kindly uncle.

They teleported up into the transportalizer room in the lobby. Already Rose could smell something burning, and almost choked on the sheer amount of dust and smoke in the air. If she hadn’t sent John up here, she knew it would’ve been _much_ worse.

 

_Dust filter through sunbeams, the image of destruction behind it interrupting the serenity of it all._

 

The normally pristine lobby was utterly destroyed. Light’s hung from the ceiling, flickering, and the front desk was smashed to bits. Debris littered the floor, and a thick layer of dust covered everything.

She could hear crying from around the corner, and harsh yelling telling her to shut the hell up and tell them where the kids are. She couldn’t see who was talking, and she didn’t recognize the voice either.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” a woman (Sarah, Rose thought heartbrokenly), cried. “ _Please,_ let me go.”

There was the cocking of a gun and snarling. The demand to tell him where they were hiding out or he fires on three echoed in her ears,

Almost instinctively, Rose started forward, but Jade pulled her back. Wordlessly, she pointed to John, who was stationed behind the front desk. He caught the eye of Rose and Jade, and gave them a nod before launching himself towards the disembodied voice.

“GO!” John cried to both Sarah and Rose. Sarah didn’t wait twice before she picked herself up and ran out the front door to safety. Meanwhile, Rose and Jade had already started towards the training grounds door, stumbling down the steps to the security door.

“How are we gonna get past it?” Jade asked.

“You’re going to have to teleport us in,” Rose answered.

“But I can’t do that!” Jade whimpered. “I’m not strong enough!”

Rose placed a reassuring hand on her arm. “Yes, you _are._ You’ve got a 89 percent chance of executing it perfectly.”

“What about the other 11 percent?”

“Don’t worry about that part. Just know that I believe in you.”

Jade sucked in a breath. She took Rose’s hand carefully, only slightly trembling. Squeezing her eyes shut, she teleported. The flash was temporarily blinding, not like the soft atmospheric light the transportalizer gave off, but bright and loud and left Rose slightly electrified (in a good way).

Blinking spots out her eyes, she looked around, and grinned widely at the sight of the checkered room.

“You did it,” Rose congratulated, patting an exhausted-looking Jade on the arm.

“Yep,” she said weakly. “I sure did.”

Jade collapsed, and Rose was quick to catch her before she hit the ground. She groaned as the full weight of Jade’s body fell into her arms, and began the slow process of pulling her rather large friend towards her locker room. She set her down gently, and got into her own locker room, suiting up. When she exited, Jade had woken and dressed, and was already loading her rifle.

“Ready?” she asked, cocking it.

“Ready,” Rose answered, summoning her needles.

Soon as Rose uttered her last syllable, the door to the training ground was smashed open, and John flew into the grounds, Dave hot on his tail.

“Cover us!” John yelled as he flew past Rose. She barely had enough time to react before a man stepped in and sprayed a barrage of bullets. Diving for cover in the locker room door, Rose recognized him and his classy suit easily.

The man from the night of Jade’s attempted murder: Crowbar.

“How is he _alive?”_ John hissed into the comms.

“I don’t know,” Rose replied, bracing herself as the sounds of bullets firing came closer. “You would think that putting a bullet through somebody's skull would be enough to keep him down for at least a little while.”

“Whatever the reason, we’re pinned down,” Dave piped. “Jade, can you stop him from firing?”

“I can try,” Jade said.

She poked her head out. As she focused on the bullets, they jerked to a stop, hovering in the air. Slowly, they rotated, turning towards Crowbar. Jade released her hold, and they shot back towards him, forcing him to go for cover.

“Woo!” Jade said, fistpumping. “Been working on that for forever!”

Rose jumped out of hiding, going for the viewing room. Hopefully, she’d be able to raise enough cover for her team so that they wouldn’t get as easily pinned like before. Already, she could see Crowbar dusting himself off and ready for a second round. Rose’s needles were already loaded up into her helmet, and using her aspect to determine the weakest point in the one way glass, she aimed and threw a needle with as much force as she could. The needle buried itself deep into the glass before dissipating, and hairline cracks rapidly expanded into large gaps as the glass shattered to the floor. Carefully, she jumped through the hole and over the panel.

She stared at the panel. The blinking buttons, oddly shaped dials, and multicolored switches caused her to come to a standstill. Her aspect worked as hard as it could, but it would be a while until it actually came to a solution that would benefit them.

“Guys, I need more time.”

“Don’t worry,” Jade said. “I got you.” She rolled out her her hiding spot, already firing.

“Why aren’t you dead, fucker!” Jade yelled, still firing shots.

Crowbar cackled. He _was_ dead, he said, so props to you for killing me. He found a break where Jade was reloading, and fired of a few shots, saying that there’s a few secrets he won’t divulge just yet, but he bets that it’d be a real pleasure to watch Jacob squirm once you all find out the truth.

“The truth?” John asked. Jade shot him a glare, and he shrugged in response. “Just saying, he might have some useful information.”

Dave scoffed. “Oh yeah, because the guy _currently trying to kill us_ is also trying to help us out. Real smart thinking, John.”

“He might be trying to help, I don’t know!” Quickly, John sent a gale of wind towards Crowbar, strong enough to slow his bullets down, but not stop them completely.

Crowbar rolled his eyes. He says that he’s only interested in helping his crew, and if his crew benefits from you all getting to know a sliver of the truth, then who is he to stop exposing the Harleys? He scoffed (now clearly in full monologue mode), saying that there was a lot that Jade didn’t know about her grandparents, and oh, you didn’t think I knew that about you? Really, the hit could’ve been issued out on any one of you, but the bigman himself wanted it to _really_ hurt. After all, they used to work together.

Jade cast a suspicious look to Rose, clearly doubting what he had to say. Rose mouthed to her ‘buy me more time.’ Jade nodded, and turned back towards him.

“What do you mean they used to work together?” Jade asked, popping off a few more shots. “They _hate_ him.”

Crowbar shrugged. Maybe so, he agreed, but would _you_ turn down a mutually beneficial agreement? And besides, it’s not like your grandparents didn’t have plans to backstab him as soon as he was no longer useful to them.

 

It’s just that he was quicker to the punch.

 

Jade scowled, and it was clear that Rose was beginning to run out of time. Though her numbers were almost finished calculating, they weren’t _quite_ right, and she didn’t want to do something that could lead to calamity.

Crowbar finally cocked his gun, making as if he was going to fire at Jade, but at the last second, he turned and shot at the viewing booth instead.

Rose squawked in surprise, ducking down as the bullet very thoroughly lodged itself in the wall behind. A few more shots peppered the wall closer and closer to the wall until they suddenly stopped. Carefully, Rose poked her head up, rearranged a dial or two, and finally submitted her design to the training matrix.

There was groaning as various walls, pillars, and other general things to take cover behind formed. A loud swear could be heard as Crowbar most likely fell down from the vibrations of the room sliding into place.

She climbed back through the viewing window, being careful not to nudge any dials or buttons lest she ruined her newly created map.

Inbetween the room rocking and rolling, and everyone getting into cover, Crowbar had managed to get _very large_ backup. Two men, one in a orange striped hat, and purple hat, were already searching for the teenagers, their unnaturally hulking bodies making them obvious over the small-by-comparison walls Rose had created. Eggs and Biscuits, if Rose remembered correctly.

Jade had teleported to a pillar that stuck awkwardly out the wall. She aimed her rifle, and fired, but the bullet just sank harmlessly into goons skin, like they were too dumb to actually grasp the concept of pain. John had snuck up on Crowbar and swung his hammer as hard as he could, smash Crowbar into the nearest wall with a sickening crunch. Crowbar slid to the floor slowly, but didn't get up again.

“What are we going to do about the rest of these guys?” John whispered into the microphone. “Don’t they have some funky time stuff?”

“ _Yes,”_ Dave grumbled. “Don’t Eggs use his timer or I swear, we will _all_ be paying for it.”

Sadly, Dave’s words of warning were too late. Eggs pulled an egg timer and turned the dial once, and there was a flash of purple light.

And then there was two. The copy and the original both turned their egg timers, and there were four, no eight, sixteen-

There were too many to count.

“Oh, c’mon!” John cried, exasperated. Flying high into the air, he rocketed down to the earth. When he landed, he started swinging his hammer wildly, taking out as many copies as he could. Rose created as many needles as she could, and they swirled wildly around her. She directed them towards the crowd of the clones, keeping in mind that John was in the middle.  

Rose glanced at Dave while she was attacking the mob. He was fruitlessly trying to beat up a large orange oven. Finally, he gave up, and kicked it, stabbing it with his sword, and started slashing the temporal copies that had been edging closer to him.

She grabbed a fallen timer to the ground, and smashed it. A few bodies disappeared, but they were quickly replaced. Clearly, it was evident she had to find the original timer, or there would be too many Eggs to take on.

She made her way around the crowd, keeping them largely toward the middle, smashing whatever timers she could get her hands on. A stray blow to Rose’s head from one of the Eggs made her reel. She struggled to stay upright, but the stars in her vision made it almost impossible to see, and she stumbled into the middle of the throbbing horde of minions.

While Rose had never been in a frenzied crowd, she reckoned this is what one felt like. She was pushed, pulled, and shoved in every direction. Every step she took, she was pushed back twice as hard, and trying to get a good solid breath was like trying to breathe while your head was firmly shoved in sand. Her aspect yelled at her that the chances of her getting out of this alive were getting slimmer with each passing moment, but trying to listen to it was like trying to talk underwater while you ran out of air because you stuck your head in the seafloor and refuse to remove it.

There was a resounding _crack!_ as Rose began to accept her suspiciously beach-themed fate, and the copies disappeared, leaving only the original Eggs, lying on the ground with a suspiciously crowbar-shaped dent in his head. Crowbar stood over him, the egg timer laying in shattered pieces at his feet.

Panting, he said something about how just because he smashed the timer doesn’t mean he likes you. He only did it because he was sick of getting stepped on. With a final wheeze, he dropped his crowbar, and collapsed on top of the original Eggs.

Rose laid in the middle of the floor, relishing every fresh, clean breath of air she took. Did she forget to mention how much she truly appreciated that fine mix of nitrogen, oxygen and various other gases?

Jade stood over her, hip cocked. “Are you okay?”

“I’m doing fantastic down here. You should join me.”

“I think I’m good up here.”

“Suit yourself.”

John plopped himself down next to Rose, breathing heavily. “What’s next, team?”

“We split into two,” Rose replied, holding up her fingers. “There’s less chance of getting ambushed, and we won’t get totally wiped out in one clean blow.”

“That makes sense,” Jade said, tapping the side of her helmet. The visor slide up, and she took off her glasses. Squinting, she held them away from her face, and started tapping on the lenses.

“What are you doing?” John asked curiously.

“Scanning the building for the rest of the invasion force,” Jade said, crouching down to his level so he could see, still tapping.

“How come you can do that with your glasses and I can’t?”

“Special modification I made in my spare time,” Jade answered. “Shhh, don’t tell Grandpa, he’d kill me.” With a final tap, whatever she was looking at suddenly appeared in everyone else's visors.

“What’s this?” Dave asked, adjusting his glasses. He leaned forward slightly, like he was trying to zoom in on whatever he was seeing.

“It’s the building! Or, more specifically, it’s the thermo-scan of the building so you can see where people or hot objects are located!”

“And I’m guessing the red splotches are the Felt?”

Jade shrugged. “Probably! One of the problems with thermo is that you don’t really get specific details on who’s who. Well, except for us on the bottom. John, you’re _really_ frosty!”

“Listen, is it my fault if a guy needs a few extra sweaters every once in awhile?” John huffed.

Scanning the blueprints, Rose said “It looks like they’ve delegated two or three floor to one person, excluding our own apartments. Apparently my secret stash of wizard erotica simply didn’t interest them.”

“Ignoring that last part, it’s almost like Kill Bill,” Dave said, nodding appreciatively. “I can respect that.”

“Actually, I was thinking more Game of Death!” Jade chirped.

“You’re _both_ wrong,” Rose countered. “It’s obviously Karate Island.”

John groaned, holding his head in his hands. “You’re hurting me right now.”

Changing the subject, he said “Maybe we should split up. Personally, I was thinking of Jade and Dave, and then Rose and me? We can take the first 15 floors, and you guys can take the last fourteen.”

“Actually, I’d rather we stay away from the top floor,” Jade said. “There’s no heat signatures up there, and there’d be no point in wasting energy to check it out.”

“That make sense,” Dave agreed.

To Rose, it sounded like Jade was making an excuse for whatever her grandfather had planned. The thought that Jacob didn’t trust even her with something this vital pissed her off, considering he really shouldn’t be taking the brunt of whatever attack he’s holding off against who knows what. But, she kept quiet, because she didn’t want Jade to think she listened in or anything.

“Okay, then it’s an even split!” John declared. “We’ll do the first fourteen, you guys take the last fourteen! Let’s try not to die.”

Jade grabbed Rose before she left, pulling her in for a hug.

“Don’t die on me, okay?”

Rose nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

Jade shook her head, squeezing harder than before. “Do _more_ than your best. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Rose squeezed Jade’s hand in reassurance. “I’ll take care of myself, but you have to promise to take care of yourself too.”

They broke apart, and parted ways.

“Is there a _particular_ reason that you put Dave and Jade together?” Rose asked once Dave and Jade had left, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

“It’s only strategy,” John answered casually. “It just makes sense, y’know? He’s an up-close kinda person and she’s got a gun, so she doesn’t need to stay as close and can watch his back.”

“John, your ploys are glaringly obvious.”

“Or is that what I _want_ you to think?”

“It’s _exactly_ what you want me to think.”

They left the grounds, and up to the fifth floor, their first target. There was a man with a pointed, solid orange hat and green suit trudging in front of them, looking like he was following something although Rose didn’t know what. They hid behind a cubicle, just slightly poking their heads out to observe him.

She didn’t remember his name, most likely because she’d seen it, thought it was stupid, and ejected the information from her brain. It certainly wasn’t her fault that he had such a dumbly unremarkable name, he should’ve made an effort to come up with something a bit more creative.

“MC Hammer?” John whispered.

“I refuse to call our combo that ridiculous name.”

John shrugged. “It was all I could come up with at the time. It stuck, didn’t it?”

Rose rolled her eyes, creating several small hammers while John crouched down into position.

“Ready?” he whispered.

Rose nodded, encircling him with hammers with a swipe of a hand (orbiting weapons was a very handy trick). “Definitely.”

“Alright!” Cupping his hands together, he yelled down the aisle “Hey you, green asshole!”

Orange Hat turned around angrily, looking for the offensive voice, unaware of the total asskicking he was about to receive.

“Get a load of this!” John hollered, and with that he rocketed towards Orange Hat, several hammers in tow behind him. Right at the last second before crashing into him, John dematerialized and flew through Orange Hat harmlessly.

The hammers that had followed him, however, did not do Orange Hat the favor of dematerialization, and instead crashed into him loudly and painfully. He fell to the ground, and didn’t move again.

“Nice!” John congratulated, holding his hand up for a high-five. Rose smacked it with her own.

Rose stared down at the body, kicking it lightly. “Do you suppose we get rid of it?”

John shrugged. “Like shred him?”

“Yes, of course, let’s just use the human sized paper shredder that’s stored in the basement.” Rose rolled her eyes. “I was implying disposing him out of a window or shoving him in the incinerator.”

John grimaced. “I’d rather throw him out a window. I don’t think burnt human flesh smells very good.”

Rose picked up a leg, motioning for John to grab the other. “I’ve heard from my sources that human flesh smells the same as regular meat. Regardless, I would’ve used febreeze to cover up the odor.”

"Gross."

They dragged the body to the closest window, and spent a few awkward minutes trying to hoist the body through the opening.

After Orange Hat was thoroughly disposed of, John contact Jade and Dave, saying “We’re down to 13 floors. What’s your status?”

“We just found one, and we’ll check back in after we’ve got him!” Jade whispered,

John nodded. “Good luck,” he said, and the line fell quiet.

They searched the floor for civilians, but nobody was there. Most likely, they all hauled ass as soon as the first bomb went off. Rose wasn’t sure if everyone inside were totally aware of everything that went on inside Harley Labs, but she did have a feeling that they were debriefed enough to know that whenever weird shit goes down, get the hell out.

They moved onto the next floors, methodically taking out the Felt one by one. It was insanely difficult, as one would expect, but not as difficult as _Rose_ expected. As much as she would like to applaud her skills, Jacob had told them that the Felt was basically comprised of elite assassins, and surely they wouldn’t just sit there and taking a beating from a bunch of people who weren’t even adults. It wasn’t even like they lost their touch over the years, because a few weeks ago, they almost managed to pull off a clean hit on Jade.

Something fishy was going on.

There was a crackle in the comms, and Dave said “We’re finished. I gotta say, this was pretty easy.”

“Maybe too easy,” Rose commented, frowning. “Remember, we’re dealing with professionals here. Would professionals _really_ be this amateurish?”

“You’re right,” Jade agreed. “I mean, we had one guy literally just sit there and take everything we threw at him. Granted, he seemed to have a lot of stamina, and we were thrown through time, but still!”

“Okay, I really wanna say that everything is going really smooth due to my kickass skills, but let’s be real. There’s probably something bigger going on.”

“Let’s group up in the lobby for now,” Jade suggested. “Things are quiet for now, and we should regroup to touch base”

They took the stairs back to the lobby. They didn’t want to use the transportalizer in case one of them had been sabotaged, and Rose wasn’t in the mood to be stuck in paradox space forever. When they met up in the lobby, Jade was “casually” leaning against Dave, though it was obvious he was propping her up.

“What took you guys so long?” Dave asked casually.

John rolled his eyes. “I dunno, not everyone has a teleporting girlfriend.”

“Dave’s not my boyfriend, and we didn’t teleport down,” Jade huffed. “We’re just faster you.”

Dave clutched his chest. “Babe, you wound me.”

Jade shoved him, and wobbled a bit before he caught her and held her up again.

“Alright, so now what?” John asked, getting straight to business.

Dave shrugged. “I dunno dude, lemme just catch my breath. I had to fight this dude all by myself because _Jade_ here thought it was a good idea to get smacked into next week.”

Jade hit him on the arm lightly. “I didn’t get smacked into next week, you did with one of your weird time copies!”

“That’s how you remember it,” Dave countered. “I actually had to go back in time to save your sorry ass, so I think a _thanks_ should be in order.”

They bickered some more over who saved who, getting ridiculously deep into semantics and instances that were probably made up by Dave, but who could tell?

Suddenly, Dave collapsed on the floor. Behind him was Crowbar, holding his namesake. He was a bloody mess, and there was no way in hell he should’ve been standing after the hammering that John gave him.

Hell, he shouldn’t even be alive! What would it take to put this guy in the ground for good?!

Quietly, he mocked the groups laughter, smacking the crowbar in his hand with each artificial chuckle.

Don’t you know, he snarled, that you never turn your back on the body.

* * *

Time slowed down. Time always seemed to slow down at truly significant moments, maybe so that you can savour the flavor. Detect the subtle notes of surprise, enjoy the harmony of shock and fear. Perhaps even judge how the chef might've sauteed the tension a bit too long. Not much to be said about it.

The bullet moved in an almost comical slow motion. Already Rose calculated that John was closest to the path of the bullet. There wasn’t a bright flash of red, signifying that a heroically doomed Dave would come back to save one of them. Jade could barely keep herself up, much less actually move or teleport anything. And sadly, as much as Rose was willing to sacrifice herself, she was simply too far away.

Of course, since fate occasionally grants a kinda okay hand to players, John had already disappeared in a puff of obnoxiously bright blue smoke. Time resumed its normal pace as the bullet collided with the pillar behind him. John reappeared behind Crowbar, and brought his fists down on his head hard, sufficiently rendering him unconscious. A thin trickle of blood ran down from his nose from what must’ve been a sheer amount of concentration on his part, and he stood over Crowbar, breathing heavily.

And then he passed out.

Gingerly, Rose lifted him up off Crowbar’s hopefully dead body. He woke up almost immediately, cracking a smile.

“Geez Jade, now I know how you feel when you teleport,” John mumbled sleepily.

“Just try to stay awake,” Jade murmured, struggling to hoist him up on her shoulders.

Dave stirred slightly. With a waking groan, he rubbed the back of his head, wincing. Noticing Crowbar face down on the ground, his head shot up, looking around in confusion.

“What the _hell_ did I miss?” he asked, struggling to sit up.

“Not much,” Rose said, and helped him up off the ground. He leaned against her slightly, holding his head.

“Nothin’ much,” John agreed. “After all, what can happen in five seconds?”

Rose, being the most conscious member, decided that fuck it, they’re using the transportalizer and going to the clinic, let paradox space decide if they’re stuck there forever. As she half-dragged, half-coerced her more vertically challenged friends to the pad, she thought that even though they fought tooth and nail just to survive, they shouldn’t be _this_ exhausted. Why was she complaining about everything being too easy earlier?

Thankfully, the clinic was largely intact, the only damage really being the large hole in the wall and some of the supplies tossed about the room. A few bloody trails decorated the floors, most likely Felt trying to patch themselves up to no avail.

Rose very gently tossed John into a cot, and neatly dropped Jade into the other. Dave was mostly recovered from the blow to his head, and took to the more intact medicinal cabinets. He pulled out variety of medical supplies, and dropped himself onto an examination table. Gently, he peeled back his torn armor, and began cleaning his various gashes and cuts with moist towelettes. Scars peppered his skin like freckles pepper a redhead who loves the sun, and some of them were old and faded, but others were more recent. He grabbed up the needle and thread, and began to stitch himself up.

“You seem like you know what you’re doing,” Rose commented, propping her head up on her hands to watch.

Dave nodded, cutting off a length of thread. “My brother taught me. I guess he was sick of patching me up after strifes.”

“He _cut_ you?” Rose's hand flew to her mouth in shock. “Intentionally?”

“Nah,” Dave answered, shaking his head. “My brother Dirk, he patched me up and taught me most of what I know about weapons and shit. The older one though, he’s the one that did shit that led to well….” He gestured vaguely to the whole of his scarred body.

“This.”

He fell quiet for a long time, thinking. Rose didn’t push him, for fear of causing Dave to clam up.

"I guess that’s why Dirk left. It was a pretty fucked up situation.”

Rose nodded, humming in sympathy. It certainly wasn’t like they were all coming from the best of homes. Dead parents, abusive assholes, and straight-up neglect and rejection just seemed to follow them wherever they went.

“Did John know?” Rose asked quietly. John stirred slightly in his sleep, as if he knew they were talking about him.

Dave hummed in thought. “He did, and he tried to be there when things were…... _rough._ His dad knew too, and almost killed Bro for it. I’d rather not talk about it.” He finished sewing himself up, and swallowed a pain pill. He offered the suture towards Rose, but she turned it down.

“I managed to keep myself mostly whole,” she explained. “I’m afraid that even the slightest amount of blood is enough to make me faint.”

Dave rolled his eyes. “Yeah _sure.”_ He began to put the stitching supplies up and away, and Jade rolled over on her cot, groaning.

“Why do I feel like I’ve been body slammed by a thousand pound rhino?” she whined, slowly curling into a ball.

“Because you’ve essentially been body slammed by a thousand pound rhino,” Rose said, helping Jade prop herself up.

Jade huffed, and tried to get up off her cot, but Dave came over and pushed her back down.

“You gotta rest, dude. You can’t just get up after getting beat up a million times. That’s like trying to stand with a fucking elephant on you, and _this_ elephant has been cheating on its diet.”

Jade gestured towards Rose angrily. “But she isn’t resting!”

“Yeah, but _she_ also didn’t almost pass out from exertion multiple times,” Rose pointed out. “And please, don’t bother to lie, Dave already snitched on you.”

Jade scowled, but she stayed on the cot. “The least you could do is turn on the television,” she muttered, pouting angrily. “If I’m stuck on the cot, you’re stuck watching Nick Junior.”

“Jokes on you, I fucking love Dora,” Dave said, swinging himself over the back of an armchair. He clicked the television on, flipping through channels until he landed on the channel Jade requested.

John groaned loudly, perhaps even more so than Jade.

“I am never teleporting that far again,” he cried loudly, throwing an arm tiredly over his eyes. “The light, it’s attacking me. Dave, turn them off.”

“The lights aren’t on,” Rose replied. “That’s just natural sunlight pouring through the hole in the wall the Felt has so _lovingly_ created for us.”

John grumbled something incoherent, and covered his face with a pillow.  “Please tell me there’s at least some painkillers or something.”

“I’m sorry, but we _just_ ran out,” Dave replied, holding the bottle just out John’s reach.

John flipped him off. “When I’m done dying, I’m gonna make you pay for all the shit you’re giving me,” he said. “Later though, because I’m _freaking_ dying. Now, pills.” He held his hand out.

Dave relented, and dropped two tablets into John’s waiting palm, who swallowed them down greedily.

Rose took a seat in on the clinic sofa, as her legs had grown tired of standing, and turned on the television. She clicked through channels aimlessly, finally settling on the news channel.

Harley Labs was shrouded in smoke. Paramedics tended to people in the background who weren’t worse for wear, but looked bad enough to make the situation look catastrophic.

_Is this the result of an experiment gone wrong, or something far more sinister?_

_Many have already claimed that before the blasts, they saw several men in what appears to be green suits file into the building. Could this be the work of the Alternian Landmass, as tensions have begun to rise between the American and Alternian government? Or could it have been the Derse government finally retaliating, spurred on by unauthorized strike issued by the president on Dersite colonies?_

_I’m Jay Jackson, and you’re watching Channel Five._

Jade cut a glance over to Dave, who was busy teasing John with water, before quietly jumping off the cot and joining Rose on the sofa.

“Go to the vid-call channel, I wanna talk to Grandpa, see if he’s ok,” she whispered.

“It’s odd he hasn’t contacted us at all,” Rose noted, not-so-subtly hinting at her private conversation. “Don’t you think he would’ve tried to check in at least _once,_ just to make sure we were still breathing?”

Jade shrugged. “He was trying to keep things off our backs to make it easier for us, maybe he was busy.”

Pursing her lips at Jade’s vague words, Rose picked up the television remote. She didn’t press the issue any further, because Jade would get defensive, and Rose wouldn’t be able to get anything further out of her.

She clicked through the channels, and landed on the serene blue of the video-communication channel.

Or so, what she _thought_ would be serene blue.

A large silhouette of what seemed to be a man sat in the middle of Jacob’s dark office, if you could even call his gross musculature a “man”. If anything, he resembled something closer to a monster that crawled out of a gothic science fiction novel. A hint of a gold fang shone in the light of his rapidly flashing eyes. On closer inspection, Rose realized with abject horror that he _didn’t_ have eyes, but glowing pool balls.

“SO.”

His voice, like he was trying to eat gravel but was failing miserably, sent terror to Rose’s core.

“THESE ARE THE CHILDREN WHO HAVE BEEN TASKED WITH DEFEATING ME.”

Slowly, Dave and John came around, like they were trying to prevent the inevitable. They all stared up at the screen, fists clenched at their sides or around each other, tears or some other emotion beading up in their eyes.

“PATHETIC. I AM THE INCARNATE OF EVIL.THERE’S NO DEFEATING ME, AS YOU ALL SO FOOLISHLY THINK. I WILL SIMPLY BIDE MY TIME UNTIL I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO RISE AGAIN, AND I _WILL_ RISE.”

“Shut _up,”_ Rose whispered. In truth, she truly didn’t mean for her thoughts to slip out, but now that they were out in the open, she decided to keep rolling with it. “We don’t have to listen to your cliche Bond villain spiel about how you’ll defeat us _oh-so_ easily.”

John slit his throat with his finger rapidly, signifying to her that she should stop before he comes down himself to kill them himself. Thankfully, Rose wasn’t beyond the point of listening to common sense, and she shut up.

The silhouette blinked slowly, only briefly concealing his horrifying eyes. “SO THEY SPEAK. NOT AS WEAK WILLED AS I THOUGHT.”

The beast masquerading as a man went to pick up Jacob, who was bloody and limp. Jacob’s last few words to Jade were rehashed in her mind.

“IF THIS MAN IS YOUR SO-CALLED ‘MENTOR’ THEN I PITY YOU, AS HE IS WEAK, AND YOU WILL BE WEAK AS WELL. HE WENT UP AGAINST A FORCE OF NATURE HE CANNOT COMPREHEND, AND THUS HE WILL BE SMOTE.”

“No.”

“NO?”

“You’re not going to lay a single finger on him,” Jade commanded. “Because if you do, I _promise_ to make your life a living hell.” Jade’s hands shook fiercely as she spoke, but her voice remained steady and clear, emoting the power that she must’ve desperately wanted to feel.

The beast laughed. “SUCH EMPTY PROMISES, AND YET YOU STILL AMUSE ME. VERY WELL, I WILL NOT LAY A SINGLE TALON ON HIM.” He tossed Jacob to the side, who hit the ground with a soft thud. They winced.

“BUT BE FOREWARNED. I WILL NOT BE AS GENEROUS AS I WAS TODAY. TODAY WAS A TEST THAT YOU ALL HAVE FAILED HORRIFICALLY. I WOULD SUGGEST MORE TRAINING, BUT THAT WOULD BE USELESS, AS YOU ALL HAVE NO CHANCE OF EVER BEATING ME.”

He cackled, golden fang glinting in the light, and the camera feed shut down, returning to the normal blue vid-call screen as if nothing had happened.

“We’re gonna get him,” John said determinedly, more to himself than the others. “I don’t know how, or when, but we will get him.”

Dave scoffed. “I don’t want to be a devil’s advocate, but we don’t even have a plan. Hell, we barely even have a place to live anymore!”

“Mr. Harley’ll figure something out,” John replied. “He always does.”

“We don’t have Harley right now!” Dave cried. “In case you didn’t see, he’s pretty much as good as _dead-”_

“I’m sure we’re all fully aware of the fact,” Rose snapped, interrupting him. She cut her eyes toward Jade, signalling that maybe, _just maybe,_ Dave should invest in tact. “If anything, we need to work of disposing the Felt from the building, and try to get rid of their hold over our resources-”

“We literally have the Felt lying around us!” Dave interrupted. “I dunno about you, but I’m pretty sure they’ve got some kinda weird-ass magic mumbo-jumbo that lets them come back to life. I’m not the only one who saw Crowbar walk up and almost kill us after being ‘supposedly’ dead, right?”

“Technically, you didn’t see anything,” John pointed out.

Dave held a hand up in his defense. “Regardless, there’s not much we can do right now.”

“Stop it!” Jade shouted. Everyone stopped, turning to look at her.

Taking a deep breath, she said “I know we’re all tired, and stressed, and really fucking scared, but you all need to listen to me. Grandpa said that if he didn’t make it out, I had to tell you all the truth.”

“The _truth?”_ Dave asked, bewildered. “What do you mean _the truth?”_

“Right when everything started, you all know Grandpa gave me additional information right in the beginning, right?”

John nodded. “Yeah, but that was because you were nerding out about science.”

“It wasn’t _just_ that,” Jade huffed. “Besides information about the aspect genome, it also contained information about the Felt, and it was a whole bunch of stuff that Grandpa didn’t tell us.”

John raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”

Jade shrugged. “I’m not sure. I didn’t read the whole thing before I confronted Grandpa about it, and apparently, the flash drive was loaded with extra information that he didn’t want me knowing. He made me promise not to tell _anyone,_ and the next day it was gone, along with the extra copies I had made.”

“Well, what _did_ you find out?” John asked. He tugged a finger nervously, cracking a knuckle.

“I found out some stuff about Crowbar,” Jade said. “It’d be easier to show you.”

She pulled a cracked and sparking holoscreen from inside the wall. Working around various firewalls and password locks, she made it into the database. She typed a few characters in, and with a swipe of her hand, she displayed it in the middle of the room for everyone to see, casting a blue glow over everything. Crowbar’s apparition stood in the middle, only instead of his trademark classy green suit, he wore a classy suit that would’ve been in fashion decades ago. However, he still wore his respective red hat, and the number seven ball pin was still neatly pinned onto the lapel of his suit.

“Whatever I’m about to say next, you guys have to _promise_ not to freak out, okay?” Jade asked, giving everyone an earnest look. “It’s not going to be an easy pill to swallow, but you guys deserve the truth.”

They promised, and Jade took a deep breath, picking her next words carefully.

“You remember in the beginning, when Grandpa told us about SkaiaNet and the aspect program?” Jade began.

John nodded. “Yeah, how could I forget? It was the day when like, _everything_ changed.”

“Anyways, there was more to the aspect testing than Grandpa had told us about,” Jade continued. She swiped on the holocron, and a hologram of a short, bald man appeared.

“This is English, the creator of the Felt,” Jade explained. “He found out that Harley Labs had started up the aspect program illegally, and so he promised not to rat them out to the government _and_ get them additional resources for whatever they needed if they gave him super-powered people for his gang.”

Rose pursed her lips. “Then I’m _sure_ this invasion was just their way of saying thank you,” she said drily. “Otherwise, I’d have a feeling they had a falling out at some point in time.”

“They did,” Jade answered. “The records say that English had found out how to clone his members, and decided he didn’t need Harley Labs, so he tried to blow us up.”

“What about the big guy though?” John asked, fiddling with the end of his torn cape. “Is he Felt too, or is he just some random bad guy who has a score to settle with your grandpa?”

Jade sighed, biting her lip. “No, he’s with the Felt as well. He’s just….. _above_ the Felt. I don’t know who he is though.”

“So he’s just some random ugly motherfucker who hates our guts, and oh, he just so happens to be jacked as hell,” Dave said, throwing his hands up in defeat. “Great.”

“Moving past his muscles, he might have something else as well,” Rose pointed out. “No ordinary human could have taken Jacob down like that.”

“Are you suggesting has has, y’know… _.aspect?”_ John asked.

Jade shrugged uselessly. “I don’t know, I didn’t get that far. But I’m pretty sure he does.” She dismissed the holograms, and heaved herself heavily into a nearby chair. “So essentially, Harley Labs created the Felt, _probably_ created that big guy, and my grandparents have been lying to us for who knows how long.”

“But all this stuff is exactly what Crowbar said,” John pointed out. “We’re not _actually_ listening to him, are we?”

Jade sighed. “I don’t know. But after today I think he’s right. He wouldn’t have known that I got more information than I was supposed too, and it wouldn’t make sense for his story to match up with what I read if he wasn’t telling the truth.”

“I still don’t think we should trust everything Crowbar says though,” Dave said. “I mean, he tried to kill us like, _three_ times.”

Rose pursed her lips. “Well, Jacob hasn’t exactly been forthright with us either, and he hasn’t tried to kill us at all.”

“You mean _besides_ training,” John muttered.

“ _Regardless,”_ Rose continued, rolling her eyes, “the fact remains that Jacob hasn’t been giving us information that could’ve given us the upperhand, instead of making us look a group of children who’s gotten themselves into something too deep for them to handle.”

Jade nodded in agreement, slumping deeper into her chair. “Grandpa didn’t give us nearly as much information that I had hoped. I wish I did more digging before confronting him about it.”

John shrugged. “I mean, it’s just like in Captain America where it turns out SHIELD was evil or something like that. You couldn’t have known how deep all this conspiracy stuff runs.”

“I mean, I could’ve guessed though,” Jade replied, biting her lip. “I could’ve done more research or tried a little harder to see the truth instead of making excuses for them.”

Rose reached over and squeezed her hand gently. “Don’t beat yourself up too hard. Not all of us inherently distrust our guardians, and what you did is probably what we would’ve done if we were in your place.”

Jade sighed. “I guess.”

“So we have the Felt, who was created by the Harley’s, and then we have guys who are _outside_ the Felt,” John said. “Is there anything else we need to know?”

Jade shook her head. “Nothing that I can give you. Grandpa clammed up after what happened with the assassination attempt. If anything, I think his guilt about the whole thing made everything _worse.”_

Dave huffed, leaning back in one the armchairs. “The guy almost dies, and he still keeps us at arms length.”

Jade shrugged her arms listlessly. “He’s not the most forthright person in the universe, but can you really blame him. Based on what Crowbar was going on about before, I’m betting he’s been burned and wants to stop that from happening again.”

John suddenly shot up, listening intently for something. “Someone’s coming.”

Jade dismissed the hologram of Crowbar quickly, replacing the holocron back in its port.

“Act natural,” John said.

Rose immediately draped herself in the most unnatural pose possible, casually sticking one of her feet in Dave’s face. She didn't know whatever far off, distant sound John had heard, but hopefully they were friendly. She's had enough fighting for the day. “Is this good enough?”

“Honestly, you sit like that almost all the time,” John said, also rearranging himself into an awkward position. “So yeah, it’s good enough.”

Dave rolled his eyes.

The clinic door shrunk faster than any comprehension, and someone tall and angry came barging in, wielding an ugly looking rifle with a scowl to match. They spotted Jade, and softened immediately, lowering their rifle.

“Grandma?” Jade asked softly. “How’d you get here?”

“The Felt finally let go of the transportalizers,” Julie answered, walking over to squeeze Jade tightly. “I thought you all had died when I couldn’t find you.”

Jade smiled sadly, shaking her head. “We’re all fine. Just a few scrapes, nothing bad.” If it were possible, Julie squeezed even tighter, not wanting to let go.

“Where’s your grandfather?” Julie asked.

“He’s...he’s upstairs,” Jade answered. Her hands wrung nervously together again. “He went deal with _him.”_

Julie almost stumbled backwards, as if the statement was so heavy it literally knocked her back. “He’s _here?”_

Jade nodded. “He was. I’m not sure if he’s gone though.”

Julie raked a hair through her head exasperatedly. “Have _any_ of you guys seen him yet?”

“Well, we did and didn’t,” John answered. “We haven’t seen him in person, but he just video-called us a few minutes ago.”

Julie sucked in a breath. Rubbing her temples, she took the nearest seat. “Then he’s probably gone already.”

“Hey, who exactly was that guy anyways?” Dave asked, giving everyone else a meaningful look. “He seemed pretty powerful.”

“I suppose you all deserve to know the truth,” Julie said. “I don’t have a lot time because I need to check up with Jacob, but in short, that man was Lord English.”

Straightening her shirt, she stood. “I’m sorry I don’t have more time to explain, but again, I need to see my brother. Hopefully I'll be able to give you more information soon.” Julie pulled Jade in for a hug, and then teleported away.

There was a beat of silence before Dave said “That was a convenient excuse.”

Rose nodded in agreement. “At least we got a name. Quick thinking, by the way.” She rearranged herself in a more comfortable position, slightly regretting that she decided to pick (and hold) a complicated one.

“I love my grandparents, but there’s too many secrets floating around here. I don’t know what’s going on after today, but I’m sick of living in the dark!” Jade said. “We’re going to get answers, or we’ll die trying.”

John grimaced. “I didn’t think the Harley’s would _kill_ us if we accidentally found out more than we were supposed to.”

Jade rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. We’re going to have to go to the file room for information. I’ll go, since I know how the computers work, and I know _exactly_ what to look for.”

Dave opened his mouth to speak, but Jade stopped him. “And I’ll be bringing _you_ along, since I know you guys probably don’t trust me a whole lot right now.”

Dave shrugged slightly, twisting his mouth uncomfortably. “I mean, you kept all this information secret and shit, _and_ you’re the granddaughter of the people who kept these secrets. There’s no denying you _might_ have a bias.”

John elbowed him, giving him a look. Dave rolled his eyes, but added “But you’re also our friend, and we’ll trust that you’ll bring everything back.”

Jade gave a wry smile. “Thanks, but at this point I don’t even know if _I_ trust myself. I’d feel better knowing there was someone keeping me in check who wouldn’t lie for me.”

Rose huffed, but she didn’t say anything. Jade was slowly undoing her life and everything she knew and trusted by uncovering her family secrets, and if Rose lying made the transition easier, then she’d do it in a heartbeat.

She got up, stretching. “We’d better get out of here, and see what else we can do to help now that Julie’s here.”

“Yeah.” John jumped up out of seat. “We’d better pretend we’re still in the dark too.”

Dave scoffed. “Don’t have to pretend, we already are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lord english: *patiently sits in the dark waiting for the kids to turn on the television which may or may not happen but whatever its fine*
> 
> also there's hells of more action in this chapter??? wild. now back to the domestic shit ~~jk jk i kid~~
> 
> when dave was talking about his homelife, i hinted at john's a bit because whoops, _everyone_ has an angsty backstory. john used to have a mom named karen, but when he was really young, she left him and his dad to create a new life and family for herself.
> 
> but this time, this backstory isn't entirely my own. guess where i got this amazing idea from???   
> from my good pal buddy amigo tHE COOLEST AND AMAZING AND AWESOMELY CREATIVE PERSON @whoneedsalifeineedalife! she gave me the amazing idea of karen! seriously she (not karen) is really amazing and like she's given me so many great ideas for this fic!!! already there's some extra stuff sprinkled in that she'd probably be able to pick out. her ideas are really good so you guys really need to check out her tumblr, and give her support! 
> 
> also _conspiracy_. a magical thing. except for like everyone in the fic bc everyone's gonna get burned. everyone. nobody is safe. ~~ok maybe everyone is safe because i don't have the heart to traumatize my poor kiddos~~.
> 
> i also fleshed out the aspects a bit! the most obvious is that john is a lot more sensitive to noises and smells because they travel so easily on the wind, so he gets headaches from all the extra sensory information. dave, like most other time aspects, has an internal clock running. jade generates extra electricity. there's a lot of different aspect quirks for each person, and i'll point them out as we go along. as the story progresses, their powers are gonna get stronger, but story-wise they've had them for like a couple of weeks, and aren't as powerful as their counterparts quite yet. 
> 
> ~~howaretheystillalive~~


	11. the plot thickens......

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes conspiracy comes around when you least expect it, and when you desperately need answers, a haggard old man answers them in such a roundabout way that you just end up with more questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey yall! it kinda hasn't been two weeks exactly, but i was thinking that maybe id adjust my update schedule to roughly around 2 weeks per update, so that way it can flow with my real life schedule better!! i might extend updates to once every three weeks but hopefully not!
> 
> on that note, please enjoy!!!!

They were tended to by physicians early the next morning. Jacob had wanted to get them patched them up as soon as he could, but he had little say in the matter, as his sister had flown up immediately and took charge over affairs and press. Rose hardly even seen him, as he had been taken away by people in stretchers immediately, and she guessed the older Harley’s had conferred while he was being loaded up into a nondescript car.

“You kids deserve some rest before being poked at by doctors,” she said, ushering them into John’s floor. “And if the press manages to find you- _which I doubt they will_ -just say it was a terrorist attack and leave it at that.”

She’d given each of them a hug, and planted a kiss on top of Jade’s head (how she managed to stay taller than Jade was a mystery), before transportalizing away to deal the repercussions.

They didn’t talk much, setting up in John’s room wordlessly. John had wordlessly surrendered her bed to Jade, who seemed like she needed as much love as she could get.

The doctors worked as if nothing had happened last night, and joked with the kids in an effort to get them into higher spirits. It worked a bit, as Rose felt the tug of a smile every once in awhile, but she still felt heavy from yesterday.

Jade had disappeared briefly to talk with Jake, who wanted to check up with his sister. He couldn’t fly in to make sure his sister was ok, as he was extremely busy with something vague-sounding, but he did vid-call her. When Jade returned, she seemed better.

Jacob Harley had flown back in, during the middle of the night. Rose only knew because she heard the clamber of people transportalizing downstairs to greet him. He called for a meeting after they were finished with the doctors. Rose thought that this wasn’t really a time for a meeting considering they were literally attacked last night and should be mobilizing, but then again, Jacob would want to talk to them before he did anything drastic.

Inside the conference room, however, it was deafeningly silent. Nobody wanted to talk first, even though they were all bursting with questions.

“Everyone is aware of last nights... _events_ , correct?” Jacob asked tentatively. He only wore a sling for one of his arms, which Rose considered suspicious. After all, he had been beaten close to death, and came back the next day fine and dandy. Rose could chalk it up to his apparent aspect, but she sensed that wasn’t the case. Rose was only stabbed, but she was bedridden for the next five days. The whole situation smelled fishy, but she didn’t want to push it just yet, considering her promise to her group about not pushing the older Harley’s just yet.

The group nodded gravely. Even though Jacob was talking about the attack on the labs, the teenagers also remembered the information they had found last night.

“I think you need to fess up as to _why_ we were attacked, Grandpa,” Jade said quietly, looking everywhere but at her grandfather. Her leg jiggled at a nervous pace, and Rose placed a hand on top of hers.

 Jacob took a deep breath before he spoke. “Rose, remember when you asked why your parents knew about your coming-of-age abilities before you were even born?”

She nodded. “I remember,” she said bitterly. “You said that we were part of some ‘great, big master plan’ but that we weren’t allowed to know about it yet. What does this have to do with why we were attacked?”

“Well, I believe you need to understand the past before I tell you about the present,” he said, pushing a few keys on his keypad. Holographic computers rose from panels in the oak table. Jacob motioned for them to read, Rose stared down at the holographic screen in front of her, reading silently.

 

_In the year 19XX, Jacob and Julie Harley bought Harley Labs, formerly known as SkaiaNet. The duo tried to resume the discontinued superhuman program, but ran into difficulty from the government. To evade the federal government, Harley Labs made a deal with the up-and-coming crime boss, LORD ENGLISH, that he would bribe government officials to turn away from Harley Labs, and in turn, Harley Labs would give him “superpowered minions made outta my crew.”_

_It’s possible that Harley Labs is accomplice to the Felt’s rise of power in New York._

_Three years after the deal between Harley Labs and LORD ENGLISH, Harley Labs was bombed on October 25th, 19XX. It is assumed that ENGLISH sent the bomb, but all evidence that he did went down with the Carapacian that may or may not have unknowingly delivered it. It is unknown as to why ENGLISH would try to kill the Harley’s, but from circumstantial evidence, it is assumed the Felt leader found a way to clone his gang members and no longer needed the Harley’s to give him “minions.”_

_Harley Labs sent word to ENGLISH that the deal was no longer in good standing, and quickly burned any evidence that they were associated with the Felt or its leader._

_Many years later, the Felt leader disappeared, and many thought he had died, however some claim to have seen him late at night stalking the Harley’s old haunts._

_In the event that ENGLISH was not deceased, the executives and creators of Harley Labs contacted the remaining amount of superhumans not killed by the Felt, and created a plan that if ENGLISH were to ever return, they would be there to stop him. There have been two generations of this security plan, the latest being John Egbert, son of James Egbert, Rose Lalonde, daughter of Renee Lalonde, Dave Strider, sibling of Derek Strider, and Jade Harley, daughter of Jemma Harley (deceased) and Jared Harley (deceased)._

_There are a few rogue people in the world with aspect that have been tasked to help if neutralizing ENGLISH is an undertaking. This includes, but not all Raina Lalonde, Dante Strider, Jacky Crocker, Jacob Harley, and Julie Harley._

 

“So, now you know the truth,” Jacob said. “Any questions?”

Yeah, what the fuck? Rose thought. She was in the dark for most of her time at Harley Labs, and she wasn’t even aware of it. Hell, she apparently had family involved in this that she didn’t even know about! Raina Lalonde was not somebody that Rose recalled her mother inviting over for Thanksgiving, nor a name that Rose could ever recall her mother ever using.

She cast a glance towards Jade, and withheld her questions for the time being. Jade held priority, considering she lived in Harley Labs for more than half of her life, and probably felt more betrayed than anybody else here.

“You’ve had powers your whole life and you didn’t even tell me,” Jade whispered.

Jacob sighed. “Julie and I thought it’d be best that we didn’t tell you _or_ Jake, just in case the Felt didn’t come back. But they did.”

“Does Jake know?” Jade asked. “Hell, does he even have powers? A _shred_ of aspect in him?”

“He doesn’t have a clue,” Jacob said, shaking his head. “He’s also completely powerless. I’m not sure why the aspect gene skipped him, considering your parents both had the gene, and you have it as well.”

“What powers did my parents have?” Jade asked. 

Jacob sighed. “I’m not sure, actually. They hadn’t developed anything yet, but they were in the beginning stages of development. Raina foresaw they would’ve had the same powers that you developed-”

 “Raina?” Rose interrupted. “Does she happen to have the same powers as I do, considering family name, and the reasoning being that Jade’s parents would’ve had the same powers as her, it’s safe to assume that she would have the same powers as me. Please, do correct me if I’m wrong.”

Jacob’s eyes glittered with a faint hint of pride. “You guessed right, Rose. Raina is in your family, and she has many of the same powers of you because of that. Congratulations.”

 

At the mention of Raina, Dave had started scrolling through the passage speedily. “What about the rest of these people at the bottom?” he asked, gesturing to the screen. “Why couldn’t they be tasked with taking down the Felt? Why does it have to be _us_?”

Jacob sighed. “It’s complicated to explain, and if I did tell you, you wouldn’t understand, but I’ll try my best. Simply put, there are many other forces at play here, and the other people who wield aspects are out there keeping them at bay. It was easier to just train a younger group to take down the Felt instead of trying to stop the forces that be _and_ take down the Felt simultaneously with an older group.”

“What other forces are out there?” Rose asked.

“People that’d like to see the Felt rise to power. Take the Alternians for example. The reason we couldn’t get you a trainer for you is because Raina was trying to overthrow the queen. We aren’t sure who else is out there aiding the Felt, but we can assume it’s someone nefarious.”

“Well, when you find out, tell us,” Dave said nonchalantly. “Wouldn’t want to be left in the dark, y’know?”

 

Rose motioned for John to kick Dave.

 

“Anyways,” Jacob continued. “I’ve decided it’s too dangerous for you all to continue living here-”

“Would that mean I would be going back to Chicago?” John asked. Rose detected a hint of hopefulness in his words.

Jacob shook his head, giving John a sad smile. “Sadly, Chicago isn’t safe enough. But, maybe California will do? I’ve received reports of very little Felt activity in California, and if last night is any indicator, you need more training and experience before trying to go up against them again. The only reason you lot are still alive is because they _severely_ underestimated your level of skill, but trust me, they won’t be doing that again. The Redwood forests would be a perfect place to hide in until we’re adequately prepared-”

“So, we’re running?” Dave interrupted.

Jacob sighed. “Yes. I suppose you could say that. But what am I supposed to do? Let you all become sitting ducks, vulnerable to any and all attacks? This is for your _own_ good, you know.”

This time, Jade motioned for John to hit Dave, and he glared at Jade, not really muffling his grunt of pain as well this time.

Jacob gave Dave an odd look. “You doing ok there son?”

Dave nodded. “Just a bit _sore_ in my leg,” he hissed, glaring at John. John shrugged.

“You might want to get that checked out.” 

“Anyways, the people have the same last names as us?” John said, changing the subject. “Is that just some freaky coincidence, or is the aspect gene some kinda hereditary thing, like what Rose said?”

Dave nodded in agreement. “I’d know if my older bro had more bros.”

Jacob steepled his fingers. “The aspect gene is passed down by your family, yes. And those people at the bottom are your family as well. Oddly enough, your guardians don’t have the same powers that you all do,” Jacob answered carefully.  “It’s the four people at the bottom who do.”

“What does _that_ mean?” John asked bewilderedly.

Jacob sighed before speaking. “We’re not entirely sure. Our predecessors SkaiaNet did something with the aspect gene that Julie and I couldn’t quite figure out.”

Rose could feel that Jacob wasn’t giving the full truth, but she didn’t push it. She eyed Dave to make sure he wasn’t about to push the topic to make Jacob clam up, but he sat quiet, looking pensive. Or, he was sick of John kicking him, and didn’t want to get kicked a third time.

“As for the powers, I suggest you read their files.” Jacob pulled up a few files on the holographic screens, and motioned for them to read.

 

 **NAME:** RENEE LALONDE

 **ASPECT:** ABILITY TO CLOAK HERSELF AND/OR OTHERS INSIDE OF THE “VOID”. MANIFESTS OBJECTS OUT OF THE "VOID".

 **NAME:** DEREK STRIDER

 **ASPECT:** ABILITY TO RIP “SOULS” FROM ONE OR MORE PERSONS. ABILITY TO SENSE EMOTIONS OF OTHERS.

 **NAME:** JAMES EGBERT

 **ASPECT:** ABILITY TO HEAL OTHERS AND/OR HIMSELF.

 **NAME:** JACOB HARLEY

 **ASPECT:** ABILITY TO GENERATE LARGE WHITE-HOT FIELDS OF “HOPE” OR FOCUS THEM INTO “HOPE” BEAMS

 

“Well that explains why my scraped knees never seemed to last for long,” John muttered.

Dave scoffed. “ _Your_ dad cared about you. I didn’t even know Bro had the ability to fuckin’ feel, much less sense _others_ emotions.”

Jacob’s aspect explained the reason why he was able to shoot down the helicopter from the sky. Rose mulled over her mother’s aspect. While she wasn’t sure how powerful her mother was, it would explain as to why she and John didn’t find any civilians in the building after the attack. However, Rose wasn’t up to interrogating her at the moment, as she felt that the interrogation of one adult was more than enough for the day.

Jade had struck up a private conversation with her grandfather, and Rose took this as an opportunity to check in with the guys. She slid over, and nudged John slightly.

“How are you holding up?” she whispered.

John shrugged slightly, watching Jacob and Jade talk. “I mean, it’s not as bad as I _thought_ it would be. I still think he’s hiding stuff, though.”

“He _is_ ,” Dave grunted.

Rose rolled her eyes. “As much as I hate to agree with Mr. Conspiracy Theorist over here, my aspect could already sense that he was hiding something. I’m not sure as to what, however, it was a very vague feeling.”

“We should get someone who can like, read his thoughts,” John said. “A see-er of mind.”

“John, you know perfectly well that those don’t exist,” Rose chastised. “It’s not even grammatically correct.”

“They _could_ though.”

Dave sighed. “Anyways, before the Harley congregation is over-Jade looks _pissed,_ by the way-I think we need to discuss what we’re going to do, like, without Jade.”

Rose glared at him. “Are you saying we exclude Jade on the mere premise that she’s related to the people keeping everything away from us?”

Dave shrugged. “That’s exactly what I’m saying, yeah.”

“She’s _just_ as lost as us, if not more,” Rose hissed. “We can’t just keep her out of the loop. John back me up here.”

John looked pensive. “I mean, he’s kinda right Rose. Maybe we don’t keep her out of _everything_ , but some things might be better off kept to ourselves.”

Rose’s scowl deepened, and John hastily added “But you can see the future, and you’re the most logical out of all of us, so if you don’t think that we should do it, then by all means, we’ll tell her everything!”

Rose ran her tongue over her teeth, thinking. Glancing over at Jade, she could see that she was most definitely pissed off, which really only further proves that she knows as much as the rest of them. However, Rose’s aspect was telling her that the best path was that Jade _didn’t_ know everything that Rose and the guys discussed.

“Fine, we don’t tell her everything,” Rose huffed. “But I’m only agreeing by aspect _alone_. If it doesn’t see anything wrong about telling her, then all means, _we’re going to_ _tell her_.”

John nodded fervently. “Of course Rose! Wouldn’t have it any other way!”

Dave grumbled, but he agreed with John.

Rose looked up,  Jacob looked slightly more haggard than he had before, and Jade was slightly red in the face. Standing up, she announced that now was probably the best time to go pack, and walked out the conference room, motioning for the rest to follow her.

* * *

 Renee was in the kitchenette when Rose transportalized in, busy cooking something. She tried to sneak past without alerting her mother, but she had never been good at it, as her mother said cheerfully “I guess he told you everything, huh?”

Rose sighed, and decided to hold off on packing, and sat on the barstools near the island. “Yes, I suppose he told us the whole truth. You don’t have to hide anything.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it!” Renee said, stirring something in a mixing bowl. “I never did like the way he tried to hide things from you. I’m just glad I finally get to tell you everything.”

Her mother smiled at her, and Rose wasn’t certain if it was an attempt at being a mother, or an attempt to rile her up. Either way, both irked her, and she sighed and got up, heading towards her room. She wished at this point that the walls didn’t come up to just her waist, just for the sake of privacy.

“I went through your pantry,” Renee said, breaking the silence. “Sorry about that, didn’t mean to invade your privacy. I found a _lot_ of junk food. And a few rotten heads of broccoli. You have some odd tastes, Rosie.”

“When your powers drain excessively on your energy, you need a lot of calories,” Rose said drily. “The vegetables were an attempt at healthy eating, which I very obviously failed.”

Renee nodded in understanding. “I used to eat a lot too when I was training with my powers, and it was a _bunch_ of junk food, so you’re already doing better than me. I don’t eat as much now, but that’s because I’m not using my aspect as much.”

“Hmm.”

Renee continued. “But _yesterday_ , after hiding so many people, boy I was _ravenous_. Still am, and I thought you and I could share a meal before you go?”

Rose straightened, and examined her mother. Renee smiled eagerly, and Rose could sense that it was genuine. She sighed, and nodded.

“Yes, that’d be lovely.”

Rose placed the willingness on eating with her mother by the smell of the food that permeated the floor, and not because she had suddenly gone soft. Even _she_ could take a break from the passive-aggressive game she and her mother played.

“Is there anything you want to ask me before you go?” Renee asked, sipping a glass of orange juice. Rose had discovered that her mother stopped drinking right after Rose had left, and a foreign sense of pride swelled in her heart.  

 

She _was_ going soft.

 

“Who exactly is Raina Lalonde?” Rose asked, twirling a forkful of pasta. She thought she should try and ween as much information out of her mother as she could about the information she just received from Jacob. “You’ve never mentioned her in my entire life, and you have at least _one_ story about everyone in the family, even the people three times removed.”

“She’s my sister,” Renee replied. “I never talked about her because she didn’t want you to know about her.”

This struck Rose as odd. “Why not?”

“She doesn’t think she’s a good person,” Renee answered. “I can understand why she thinks that, but the entire group has done things we’re not proud of.” She sighed, and downed the rest of her juice.

“She reminds me of you,” Renee said idly. “Same temperament and intelligence, same way of thinking, _hell,_ you both even look the same. I think you would’ve liked her. Better than me, anyways.”

Rose let the last comment roll off her back, even though she wanted to say something biting. “Perhaps one day I’ll find her.”

Renee shrugged, smiling sadly. “Maybe.”

They fell silent, and Rose’s thoughts drifted towards yesterday. She didn’t know how much she could trust her mother with the information that her friends found yesterday. While Renee didn’t seem like a person who would blab about the secrets Rose found, she also worked for the people who _had_ the secrets. Also, considering that everything occurring right now is unprecedented, and Rose could hardly tell if it was genuine or another passive-aggressive move. After all, her mother never acted like this before, like a loving mother who talked with her daughter and made meals for the two of them to share. Renee was always drunk, or absorbed in her work, and Rose was just left alone.

“Why did you drink?” Rose blurted. “Why would you do that to _me_ if you cared about me!” She didn’t take back her words, only stared defiantly into her mother’s face.

Renee looked taken back by Rose’s outburst, and Rose silently regretted her actions, but then her mother sighed. “I think it’s time for you to know,” she said quietly. “I’ve kept this secret for far too long.”

Renee took a deep breath, and began speaking. “I was artificially impregnated. The labs wanted 100% certainty that I produced children who had the aspect gene, and set me up with the Striders.”

Rose coughed in surprise. Being related to the Striders was _not_ something she expected.

Renee chuckled. “Yeah, I know. I was surprised too.”

“Anyways, I was impregnated, and I expected twins, you and another girl,” Renee said. “I didn’t name you two yet because I wanted to see both of you myself before I put names to you both. Raina had flown up to help me around the house, she was better in keeping touch back then.”

“I went into labor on a cold day, and I can remember getting so _sad_ , which was odd because I hated the pregnancy. Raina comforted me, patting my hand, telling me that it was ok and that I was just feeling hormonal at the moment,” Renee said. “And it was pretty assuring, considering she was also driving 100 miles per hour to get me to the hospital.” Renee laughed at this part, apparently remembering the good times with her sister.

“I don’t remember much about the labor, only that it was _excruciatingly_ painful. I fell asleep as soon as it was over. When I woke up, Raina and the doctor were discussing something, and they kept glancing at me with this stupid _worried_ look on their face. Finally, Raina stopped talking with the doctor and came over and she told me the news.”

Renee stopped speaking, and stared out the window for a long time before resuming.

“Your sister didn’t make it,” Renee whispered, as if it was almost too painful to say outloud. “She died. I don’t know how or why, but she died. After that, I was inconsolable for months. Couldn’t stop crying, couldn’t even get out of bed. Raina took care of you and me, and she left once she thought I could take care of you sufficiently.”

Renee chuckled bitterly. “Only I couldn’t take care of you. I was still depressed. So, on a last-ditch resort, I started drinking, just to take off the edge. I guess I couldn’t stop because I became a _raging_ alcoholic.”

She sighed, and looked at Rose, smiling sadly. “So that’s why I drank. Because of your dead sister.”

Rose studied her mother, who had resumed staring out the window. Her dark skin was washed out with sunlight, and while Rose would begrudgingly admit to others that yes, her mother was beautiful, she could see as to _why_ people thought Renee was so attractive.

Rose patted her mother on the arm awkwardly, not really sure what she could do comfort her mother. All of this was new territory, and Rose was thrown into it with no supplies and some scraps of a map.

Renee smiled at her daughter sadly, and Rose right then and there decided to do away with the whole passive-aggressive game altogether. She couldn’t be consistently rude to her mother on good conscience, and she doubted that her mother was even playing from the beginning. It was possible that Renee Lalonde was just a broken mother trying to do her best for her daughter in fucked up circumstances.

“You better finish packing, hun,” Renee said, standing up. “Wouldn’t want you to be unprepared.” Going into the kitchen, Renee hunched over the oven, peering into the window while Rose went back to packing.

Suddenly, she shot up as if she remembered something. 

“Oh Rose, would you care for some cake? I already iced it, you can take a slice on the run!” Renee said. “Probably not as good as that Egbert boy, but Betty Crocker can still throw down.”

“Sure,” Rose answered, throwing the last of her clothes in the suitcase. She shouldered her overnight bag, and setting her stuff down near the transportalizer, she sat down at the bar. Renee reached into the refrigerator, and pulled out an already iced cake.

“This was the last thing I had time to make this last night, but fell asleep before I eat it. Food coma, I guess.” She presented it to Rose. “Have at it.”

Rose glanced down at the cake, and read the curly iced text on top.

 

_DON’T TRUST THE HARLEY'S._

 

She looked up at her mother worriedly, who was still grinning as widely as before, but there was a warning that Rose could sense that said she shouldn’t bring it up just yet.

“Isn’t it just lovely?” Renee asked, already cutting into the iced words. “I’m not particularly good at writing in icing, but I’m working on it.”

She passed a slice to Rose. “You should go so that you’re not late for the van. Anyways, we’ll talk later, okay?”

Rose nodded numbly, still in shock. She took the plate, and gathered her stuff from the transportalizer. she waved goodbye to her mother in a genuine way, and transportalized into the lobby.

* * *

 Dave was the only one outside loading up his suitcase. He glanced at Rose and said “I would’ve thought you brought more with you.”

Rose smirked, most of the shock gone away. “I would’ve, but sadly I only had one suitcase that matched my outfit.” She didn't want to tell Dave or anyone else the information she had  _just_ found out until they were settled into California, or risk somebody overhearing.

“So, California? Land of surf and babes,” Dave said, waggling his eyebrows, closing the doors to the van.

Rose rolled her eyes. “Cut that out. We all know you’re practically _engaged_ to Jade,” she teased.

Dave scoffed, but his dark skin reddened. “Nah, we’re just good friends."

“What was that thing you said a few weeks ago?” Rose cocked her head. “That you think Jade’s cute?”

“Rose, I will dump out all of your luggage if you keep talking like that.”

While Dave and Jade had grown surprisingly close over these past few weeks, it was more of a platonic bond than a romantic one. Still, Rose liked to make fun of him their odd relationship, and John joined in every once in awhile.

Jade left the building, and made her way to Rose and Dave, carrying an impossible amount of luggage. “Why’s Dave all red?” she asked, setting the luggage down and throwing it inside the trunk.

“I think the heat is getting to him,” Rose said innocently, smirking at Dave when Jade turned her back.

Jade quirked an eyebrow, confused. “Dave, you’re from Houston! Aren’t you supposed to be used to the heat?” Dave opened his mouth to speak, but Jade ushered him into the van, saying “Nevermind, just get inside before you die of heat exhaustion!”

Once Dave was inside, Jade turned to Rose and said “I know you’re lying to me. I’ve been your friend for 10 years, I should know this stuff. What’s really going on?”

“It’s the heat, Jade. You know how he wears all that black,” Rose answered. She leaned in closer and whispered loudly enough for Dave to hear “ _I think he’s emo_.”

“I can hear you!” Dave yelled from inside, voice muffled. “Y’all need to stop talking behind my back like that!”

Jade giggled, and continued loading her junk inside the car. Rose helped a bit, and eventually Dave declared he was well enough to come outside and help as well (but it was after they had loaded up more than half of Jade's junk).

“Harley, why did you think it was good idea to bring all this shit?” Dave asked, struggling to lift a larger suitcase. “I think this one has your entire _lab_ inside.”

Jade shrugged as she helped Dave pick it up. “I just wanted to be prepared, y’know?”

Dave rolled his eyes. “Bringing two suitcases is being prepared. Bringing your entire house is overkill.”

Rose nodded in agreement. “I only brought the one case, and _that_ might’ve been overkill.”

“Well, kill me for wanting to be ready for emergencies!” Jade huffed. “If you forgot something at home, don’t even _think_ of trying to come to me!”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Rose replied.

They finished loading the luggage, and slammed the van doors shut, and walked inside of the building.

“Did you bring the flashdrive?” Rose whispered to Jade.

“Yep. It’s down my shirt,” Jade answered. “I don’t wanna leave Grandpa and Bec but I need time to go through all the information, and it’d be easier without my grandparents hanging over my shoulder.”

“Alrighty,” Rose said, waving to the secretary in the lobby on the way to the transportalizer room. “The plan is to crack the info on the flashdrive, learn more shit about whatever your grandad is keeping from us, and then maybe find out whatever the fuck’s going on.”

“When you put it like that, you make it sound so easy.”

* * *

 Rose stared out the window of the Official Harley Labs™ van, bored out of her skull. It was dark outside, and Rose couldn’t see anything. Jade was snoring softly next to her, nestled lightly on Rose’s shoulder. Rose gently pushed her off, and stretched.

“Yo,” she spoke softly. “Is anybody awake?”

“Only you, Rose,” John said cheekily from the seat in front of her.

Rose groaned. “Dammit, John, why are you like this?” She unbuckled herself, and crawled over the seat to sit next to John, being careful not to kick Jade and Dave in the face.

John waved. “Sup.” He was sprawled out in the seat, reading a book, with a book light and all. Nerd.

“Ugh John, how can you read in the car without getting sick?” Rose said, grimacing.

He shrugged. “I used to not be able to. But since I can keep cool air near my face with my aspect, I don’t get carsick as easily.”

"Ah."

They sat in silence for awhile, quiet only broken by John’s quiet page flips.

“John,” Rose said suddenly. “Can I ask you something?”

“You just did,” John pointed out, not looking up from his book.

“ _John.”_

He snickered, and sobered. “Yeah, you can ask me anything, you know that. Unless it’s like ‘do I trust you’ or something like that, then _hell_ no, don’t ask me anything, I already know where that shit is going.”

Rose chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to try to throw you out of the car to unlock secret hidden powers unless absolutely necessary.”

“That’s not comforting.”

“ _Fine_ , I won’t throw you out of the car, even if your life depended on it,” Rose said, rolling her eyes.

John rolled his eyes. “ _Thanks,_ that means _so much_. Anyways, you had a question, what was it?”

“Do you ever get afraid?”

“What do you mean?” John asked, finally looking up from his book.

“Like last night. You would’ve been dead if you didn’t move as fast and far as you did,” Rose explained,  shifting to stare out the window to avoid looking at John’s face, trying not to relive the absolute fear and uselessness she felt yesterday.

“Yeah, I guess I get scared. But I’m still here, aren’t I?”

Rose shrugged. “I suppose.”

“Do you ever get scared, Rose?” John asked her.

Rose pursed her lips, thinking before she answered. She never really thought about the extent of her fear deeply, as she hadn’t had time to exactly consider the circumstances of her situation (or she just ignored that topic all together). Everybody gets scared at one point in their lives, that’s just human nature. It just seemed like all of her points just seemed to be at once. First Jade almost dies, then Rose _actually_ dies, then there was the raid on Harley Labs the night before. Right now, she barely had a clue as to what was going on, which scared her the most.

 

Honestly, Rose had never felt more terrified in her life.

 

“I am scared, we’re all _terrified_ ,” she answered. “After all, we’re like, what? 18? 19? Of course we’re all scared shitless. I mean, I’m pretty much being asked to _die_ so I can protect the Earth or New York or _whatever_  from some unknown force that just _really_ fucking hates us for some reason! But as you said, we’re all still here.”

Rose glanced in John, and she saw perhaps one of the most worried looks an 18 year old could give.

“Rose, that was really deep and vaguely depressing,” John said. He put down his book, and motioned for Rose to get closer. “I think you need a hug right now.”

Rose waved him off. “I think I’m fine, you don’t need to exert your weird, fatherly nature upon me.”

John sighed. “It’s not a weird, fatherly nature, it’s what friends do when another friend is obviously sad. You’re just one of those weird people who think they don’t need physical contact.”

Rose rolled her eyes, but she scooted closer to John, who wrapped her up on his arms.

“Just don’t make it weird by crying or whatever.”

Rose glared up at him.

Soon, she broke from the hug, retreating to her own corner of the Harley Labs Van™, and fell asleep, lulled by the gentle thrum of the car and the warm emotion called friendship.

If she had stayed awake a little earlier, she would’ve felt her phone buzz.

 

**uranianUmbra [UU] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] at 13:40 **

UU: i tried to warn yoU.

UU: bUt yoU’ve made a terrible mistake. 

* * *

 Rose didn’t remember falling asleep, but when she opened her eyes, she saw it was day, and that the Harley Labs Van™ had stopped. She groaned and stretched, hopping out of the van. 

“What is this place?” she asked, looking around. All she saw was the woods that surrounded her, and a log mansion. She assumed it was supposed to be a log cabin, but since Jacob Harley is the most _extra_ person ever, he turned it into a rather large mansion instead.

 

Typical.

 

John shrugged. “I dunno. Some kind of secret facility, I suppose.” 

“It’s no secret facility!” Jade cried. “It’s my summer home!” She leaped out of the van, and raced to the mansion, hugging awkwardly hugging it. “Oh, I missed this place!”

John nudged Rose. “She has a _summer_ home?” he whispered, incredulous.

Rose shrugged. “Eccentric billionaires do that.”

One of the doors on the van slammed shut, and Dave emerged from the back of the van, carrying his luggage. “Y’all better grab your stuff, because the van’s rolling in 5 minutes, and I doubt you wanna spend the rest of your stay in one outfit.”

“Ah, yes, we wouldn’t want to wear the same hoodie 5 days in a row, now would we?” Rose said sarcastically, smirking at Dave, who was wearing the same red hoodie he had worn for five days in a row. He ignored her, and instead rolled his luggage inside.

Rose grabbed her violet suitcase, and rolled her way inside as well.

“Excuse the mess,” Jade said, bringing in one of what was probably her many cases of belongings. “Once the feds caught Grandpa on their property and chased him off, we’ve been using this place as a storage unit.” She dropped her case on a couch that wasn’t too cluttered with junk, and left to grab more of her stuff. While Rose was pretty sure that using a place as your storage unit isn’t really being chased off the property, she didn’t really question it. It just seemed like the kind of things the Harley’s would do.

“She lives a pretty wild life, huh?” John remarked after Jade was gone. 

Rose dropped her luggage near the door and raised an eyebrow at John. “Whatever do you mean?”

“I mean, this place was on _government_ property. Wait, scratch that- _it still is._ And this kind of thing is just _normal_ for her!”

“Says the kid who knew 3 types of martial arts _his dad_ taught him,” Rose replied coolly, picking up the handle of her suitcases, following John inside.

John rolled his eyes, dropping his stuff on the sofa in the living room. “That’s different. My dad was trying to subtly prepare me for the the day I’d get my powers. Other kids would have had the same experience.”

“Sure John.” 

Rose put down her suitcase, and examined her surroundings. Inside was exactly what she expected, but she was still surprised about what she saw. Jacob’s decorative flairs were everywhere. Blue women covered almost everything in sight, all purposefully placed so that it seemed the women watched your every move. She could barely even walk, much less carry her bags, without tripping over one of the taxidermied animals that Rose was fairly certain shouldn’t (and couldn’t) have been killed in the first place.

 

If the Harley’s were into the whole passive-aggressive war that Rose and her mother previously had, they would be masters at it by decoration alone.

 

There was a surprising amount of technology everywhere. Holo-computers covered the walls, and _definitely illegal_ appearifiers were bolted on in between the spaces. She saw other inventions that she couldn’t put a name to, but she felt like the government would come after her if she did know.

Jade passed Rose on the way to the kitchen, holding what was probably the last of her luggage. “Join me in the kitchen? I wanna see if I’ve still got it with the cookalyzer!”

“Yeah sure.” Rose moved forward, but her luggage snagged on what looked like to be a horned basilisk head lying on the floor, and no amount of tugging and cajoling could release it.

“Jade, be a dear and shrink down your grandfather’s prizes?” she said sweetly, masking her annoyance. “If I get caught on another animal, I’m going to be _really fucking pissed_.”

Jade, preoccupied with the cooka-whatever, didn’t come out.

“Jade?” Rose called out. She dropped her luggage and came into the kitchen.

Inside of the kitchen, it was almost entirely marble. Marble countertops, marble floors, marble everything. There was a bar with barstools on one side of the room, and behind the bar were various cooking appliances that had looked like they had never been used. Even though the log cabin-mansion looked charmingly rustic on the outside, on the inside it was very modern.

Jade’s back was to Rose, but she could already tell what had happened.

 

In the center of the wall behind the bar, a large portrait depicted a happy, smiling couple.

 

Jade’s parents.

 

The man looked more like Jade, but the woman wore one of Jade’s wide signature smiles. They were dressed in bright clothes, and looked like they couldn’t have been more in love.

Rose came closer to Jade, and placed a hand on Jade’s shoulder. Jade stared up at the portrait, silent.

“Are you ok?”

Jade nodded, and wiped her eyes, smiling once again. “It was just unexpected, seeing them so suddenly, especially after what Grandpa told us. I didn’t know he even put this here.”

Rose wanted to say more, but Jade clapped her hands and stalked to the living room. “You wanted the animals gone?” she asked, changing the subject.

Rose gazed at Jade for a long while, full of worry. Jade’s smile seemed a bit too hollow, but Rose didn’t push it.

“Yeah, I keep getting caught on the animal bones,” she said finally, breaking the silence that fell on them.

“Alrighty!” Jade shrunk down the hunting prizes, and kicked them into a small pile in the corner. Then, for a good measure, she shrunk down the posters of women and the portrait, but Rose noticed that Jade stuck the portrait in her front pocket instead of putting it on top of the pile of prizes.

“Do I need to show you where the rooms are, or do you think you can manage?” Jade asked, peering at Rose over her glasses. “Because I _really_ want to get to the cookalyzer.”

“Nah, I think I can manage,” Rose said. “I’ll save you the biggest room left, considering the guys probably already took the biggest rooms.”

“Thanks, Rose!” Jade said, already disappearing into the kitchen.

Now that Rose wasn’t getting stuck on every other thing in her way, she moved much faster. However, that didn’t mean she made a lot of progress moving forward because this log cabin-mansion was Pretty Fucking Big, and Rose could’ve been easily lost if it hadn’t been the literal map she’d miraculously found.  

She finally made it to the wing where the rooms were located. She was too tired from wandering the mansion to deliberate between the size of one room or another, and picked the one closest to her. It was rather roomy on the inside, and reminded her of her old room back at her mother’s house, only the walls were pale violet instead of white. Rose sat on the bed and picked out the splinters she’d gotten from trailing her hand on the log walls (it wasn’t her fault, however, she was just checking for the secret passages that she just _knew_ were hidden inside the walls).

Rose decided against unpacking, and instead left the room in search of the kitchen, but bumped directly into John, who was apparently wandering the hallways.

“I don’t think I’m in the right wing,” he said, dazed.

“Why hello to you to, John,” Rose said wryly, smirking. “Lovely weather we’re having, hmm?”

John rolled his eyes. “I tell you I’ve been lost for the past hour, and you _mock_  me.”

“I don’t remember you telling me anything about being lost.”

He huffed. “Well I have been, and let me tell you, wandering around a huge mansion may seem fun at first, but it’s _not_!” He took Rose by the shoulders, yelling “ _It’s not fun, Rose!_ ”

Rose slid out from under his grip, and he held his head in his hands. She patted him awkwardly on the back, and walked him the the map she’d found. Rose left him alone after that, pretty certain that he could figure things out for himself, and headed down to the kitchen, lured by the promise of whatever Jade probably was cooking.

Outside the kitchen, Rose saw Jade talking animatedly to a hologram of her grandfather. She looked pretty agitated, and Rose decided right then she didn’t need to go inside at the moment.

Instead, she hung outside, and looked in through a crack in the door, listening in.

“How long are you gonna keep quiet!?!” Jade yelled. She fell silent, apparently listening to whatever her grandfather had to say, but he was too quiet for Rose to hear.

“I don’t _care_!” Jade said angrily. “We have to tell them at _some_ point! Secret’s don’t do more than hurt others.”

More silence.

“I know it’s to keep them safe,” Jade said, softer this time. “I just think they’ve got a right to know, y’know?”

Rose almost turned away from the conversation, even though she didn’t exactly want to, because it seemed like Jade was going to end the call soon, and she didn’t want to get caught, but Jade said something that peaked Rose’s attention.

“Especially Rose.”

Jade rubbed her temples, and said “I know Grandpa. Love you, bye.” Jade went to go turn off the holocron that projected the hologram, and Rose half-jogged half-stumbled down the hallway, and started walking amicably back towards the kitchen door, as if she was just coming down and hadn’t heard anything that had just happened.

 

Sadly, Jade wasn’t that easily fooled.

 

“Rose, come on in!” she called from the kitchen. “And don’t say you aren’t out there, I can sense you!” Her head poked out from the doorway, and her face lit up when her eyes landed on Rose, who was still halfway down the corridor. Jade waved her in, and Rose deemed it safe to enter, unless Jade knew she was spying and was going to yell at her and possibly kill her.

Jade clamped down on Rose’s arm and Rose, now positive that Jade was going to kill her for spying, mentally bid her farewells to everyone she ever knew.  

Instead, Jade dragged Rose in front of a large white box with a flame.

“Tada! The cookalyzer!” Jade said. She scurried over to the other side of the kitchen and presented a similar looking box, only this one had a snowflake instead of a flame. “And the refrigerator! Isn’t this great?”

Rose nodded furiously, slightly relieved that Jade hadn’t planned to chew her head off. “It’s fantastic. One thing though.”

“What is it?” Jade asked.

Rose opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted by Dave kicking open the door.

“What do they do?” he announced, leaping over the bar counter and loudly opening and closing various kitchen cabinets. “I’m fucking _hungry_.”

Jade rolled her eyes. “If you actually kept up with the science reports, you would know!” Jade said. “Anyways Rose, what were you going to ask?”

“Um….”

The look on Rose’s face gave it all away. Jade sighed deeply in disappointment, holding her head in her hands. Without explaining, she teleported out of the kitchen, as if she couldn’t handle both Rose’s and Dave’s technical incompetence at once.

“What’s her problem?” Dave said, tossing two foiled wrapped packages down on the bar. Rose shrugged and took a seat, eyeing the packages. 

“Do you even know what those are?” she asked.

Dave got down on eye level with the bar, inspecting the packages. “It’s either poptarts or Spy Kids shit.”

“Spy Kids shit, you say?” Rose queried. “Are you implying that you’ve watched those movies? Perhaps even _unironically_?” She waggled her eyebrow suggestively.

“ _Fuck no_ ,” Dave said with disgust. “I only watched them because Egbert insisted, not because I wanted to see a CGI monstrosity.” He picked up the package and opened one up, peeking inside. Rose sat up, and Dave tilted the contents towards her, which were dark and crumbly.

“That doesn’t look like poptarts.”

“Sure as fuck it don’t.” He dumped the mysterious contents on the counter and poked a finger inside of it experimentally. “This is really weird, I’m gonna be honest.”

“Maybe if you stick it in the microwave?” Rose suggested. “That’s what happened in the movie, correct?”

Dave shrugged. “Couldn’t get any worse than this.” He popped it into the microwave, and a few seconds later opened it, the smell of Taco Bell wafting through the air. He took a Taco Bell™ Soft Taco out of the microwave carefully, and put it down on the counter between him and Rose.

Staring down at it, neither of them spoke, both considering the amount of unnatural science that had to go down in creating this delicious freak of nature in front of them.

Finally, Dave exhaled. “Spy Kids shit?”

Rose agreed. “Spy Kids shit."

* * *

 Midway between eating whatever else Dave had found inside of the cabinets (there was a lot of shit stored in them) Dave posed a question. 

“Why is Harley so weird?”

“Which Harley?” Rose asked.

“I dunno. All of them, I guess.”

Rose shrugged. “That’s just the way they are. I can’t even imagine a normal Harley.”

“Maybe the normal cousins are the black sheep of the family. Instead of them being some kind of mad scientist or adventurer, they’re just an accountant that nobody in the family acknowledges,” Dave said around a bite food.

Rose nodded, inspecting her burger. She wasn’t even sure what brand it was at this point, all she knew is that it was from some popular chain restaurant, and that it tasted good.

“I smell food!” John said, entering the kitchen. He stopped midway between the hallway in the kitchen, paling as he saw the sheer amount of food that Rose and Dave had tried and then discarded.

“Where did you _get_ all this?” John cried, inspecting a salad. “Did you all go on some take out craze or something? I didn’t even know In-N-Out even _did_ delivery!”

Dave chuckled. “Funny story dude.”

John’s eyes sparkled with child-like delight when Dave showed John the storeroom full of magical food packets. He became even more excited when Dave explained what exactly the packets did, and almost passed out when Dave handed him one to try on his own.

“I think I’ve died,” John said. “I’ve died and my ghost is currently imagining this.”

Rose shook her head, grinning. “You are currently 100 percent corporeal, John. Relish the fact that some of your dreams have come true.”

John nodded, picking up the his fries. “I will."

* * *

 Rose lounged on Jade’s bed, idly watching her crack the flash drive.

“Are you done yet?” Rose asked, yawning. “I’m _bored_ , and you haven’t been very fun to be with.

Jade snorted. “Excuse _you,_ this is actually very exciting! It’s not my fault that you just don’t know a thing about hacking!” 

“It’s also not my fault that the science magazines you lent me were tremendously tedious,” Rose huffed. “I mean, the next device that could revolutionize the world of bio-engineering isn’t my cup of tea. You know I prefer the eldritch.”

“When I can find an article that seamlessly blends your weird fascination with the dark arts and modern technology, I’ll let you know,” Jade deadpanned, not looking up from her computer.

“Please do."

There was a light knocking on the door, and John peeked in a bit before fulling coming in.

“I’ve got food for Jade!” he said, laying a plate of something heavenly near Jade, who barely looked at it (she must’ve been _really_ absorbed in her work).

Rose reached for one of them, but John smacked her hand away.

“They’re for Jade!” he chastised. “Not people who distract her! What are you doing in here anyways?”

Rose scowled at him. “I just so happen to be providing her company like the loving and kind friend that I am. I am not _distracting_ her by any means.”

“Well…” Jade drawled out.

Rose pursed her lips in a disapproving manner. “If anything, I’m making you _more_ focused, and you are very well aware of that. Stop lying, Jade.”

John tugged Rose off the bed. “C’mon, we’ll go make a delicious batch of cookies and save none of them for Dave _or_ Jade.”

“Sounds deliciously evil. I’m all in.”

Jade turned around, glaring at John. “I can’t _believe_ you would do that to me!” she cried.

“Hush, I just gave you a whole plate of chocolate chip, you should be fine.” 

Her glare deepened as she crammed one in her mouth, and her eyes widened in delight before she resumed her glare. “You’re lucky they’re so fucking delicious.” 

John bowed. “They’ve been made by your’s truly.” He peered over her shoulder a bit, and asked “How far along are you?”

Jade shrugged, and stuffed another cookie in her mouth. “There were a _lot_ of files under the superhero program, and most of them are super-encrypted. I’m probably about 13% done.” Her voice was muffled, and crumbs fell into her keyboard.

Rose sensed untruthfulness in Jade’s words, but she brushed them off. Probably phantom vibes, and her aspect was a bit jumpy today.

“That’s not a lot of progress.” 

“Yeah, you’re gonna have to bake a lot of cookies if you plan on trying to feed me while I’m working,” Jade said. “Better get on it." 

John sighed. “Yes ma’am. Let’s go Rose.”

Dave was in the kitchen when John and Rose came back in. He waved to them, and motioned for them to come closer to the cookalyzer. 

“Ok, I think I managed to figure most of it out,” Dave said, crouching down next to the cookalyzer.

He pointed to a dial and said “You see, there’s this handy little thing that spins around in degrees, like some old timey oven, only instead it’s a lot more vague and there’s no in-betweens, so you’re either gonna have a burnt steak, or an underdone steak.”

“Oh isn’t that just _lovely_ ,” Rose said. “I just love it when my food is raw and bloody or in ashes.”

John shrugged. “You win some, you lose some. Anyways, what’s that last options?” He reached for it, but Dave smacked his hand away.

“Don’t touch that, dumbass. It very clearly reads ‘irradiate’,” he said. “I have no idea _why_ the Harley’s need an irradiate option, but it’s there, and I suggest that you don’t fucking twist the dial that far.”

John scoffed. “Yeah, because I’m dumb as a pile of rocks. I was just looking at it.”

Dave rolled his eyes and continued. “ _Anyways_ , now we can cook shit I guess. But I understand why it hasn’t been used, it fucking _sucks_.”

“And they have those easily microwavable food packets,” Rose pointed out. “Much easier to use those than actually _cook_ something."

  
“I think the verdict here is that the Harley’s are weird and that we’re never going to understand them,” John declared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the harley's are just your typical family with a typical house and typical children and grandchildren.
> 
> also suspense in the _middle_ of the chapter??? what in tarnation???? what kinda writer does that????
> 
> also, i've shifted the way that most of the characters refer to the harleys. mr harley felt too formal for rose and she would just call him jacob, and i doubt that dave would ever call somebody a mister. i'm probably going to go back through and edit the way everybody calls the harleys.
> 
> also, with the surprising amount of name brands ive included into this story, im surprised i haven't even been sponsored by any of them
> 
> do y'all know how hard it is to find five letter j names???? way harder then it should've been tbh. why did i make it so the alpha versions had five letters instead of four. _why_.
> 
> lol this chapter is a smorgasbord of information that should've been revealed at an earlier date, but whatever. it's fine. 
> 
> also if you guys have questions about what the hell is going on, please don't hesitate to ask because i don't wanna leave you guys in the dark, and i want to be able to tie up all loose ends by the time this fic is over (probably not anytime soon though!) nothing is worse than having no clue about what's going on in a story.


	12. relation situations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Telling a boy that his kinda goth friend could possibly be related to him really shouldn't be that big of a deal, but it is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy 4/13!!!! its officially 1 year AH (after homestuck)!!

**tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering turntechGodhead [TG] at 14:30!**

TT: Dave, I’ve got to tell you something that I think you’d find interesting.

TG: whats the haps dude

TG: lay it on me

TT: I was just going to say that my mother told me a few days ago that we’re related. It was  _right_ before we left for California, and I thought laying this on you right when we arrived might make for an uncomfortable stay.  After a few days, however, I still couldn’t find an opportune time to tell you in person, so I figured I’d get it over with and tell you over the internet to lessen the chances of getting upset.

TG: whoa whoa _wait_

TG: back the hell up

TG: what kinda related?  like cousins? or am i like your young spritely grandpa or something fucking keeping myself looking good by doing sudoku or something

TG: damn i got a craving for werthers originals now thanks rose

TT: No problem.

TT: As for relation, I’m pretty sure you aren’t my grandfather, unless you have a penchant for unhealthy gambling and getting thrown into jail rather violently. Most likely, as my mother didn't tell me much before I left, we’re more like half-siblings.

TT: Welcome to the Lalonde family, I guess.

TG: what the fuck

TG: are you fucking with me

TT: What sort of entertainment could I stand to gain from telling you that you’re my half-brother? I’m not that juvenile.

TT: Are you implying that the possibility of you being related to me is low? Perhaps the next time I'm going to tell you something of this apparent magnitude, I'll soften the blow by talking about the weather before telling you that I have a third arm or something of the ilk.

TG: dont try to change the subject

TG: youre fucking with me and making it look like youre not

TG: youre _totally_ fucking with my head right now with all your weird psychological bullshit

TT: I haven’t tried to unironically psychoanalyze anybody since I was 13. The only time I “analyzed” you was purely for show.  I made most up most of the terms I used, by the way. 

TG: haha funny

TG: sooooo funny

TG: did john put you up to this

**turntechGodhead [TG] added ectoBiologist [EB] TO THE CHAT!**

TG: john did you fucking tell rose to tell me that were related as some kinda shitty prank

TT: Oh my God.

EB: what the hell? no dude why would i do that?

EB: that’d be such a shitty prank

EB: i’m honestly offended you think i couldn’t think of something better than _that_.

TT: Dave, everything I’m saying isn’t a pisspoor attempt at a practical joke. Please, just  _ try _ to listen before you immediately jump to conclusions and have a mental breakdown.

TT: The day before we left, my mother told me that she was artificially impregnated by the Strider family.  Trust me, despite all hilariousness of the situation, I’m not actually intentionally screwing with you right now.

TG: ......................................................................................................................................................

TT: Unlike your brother may or may not have screwed my mother.

TG: oh thanks rose for putting that mental image in my mind

TG: i try not to even think about that asshole _fully clothed_

TG: now i got this image of two old people fucking all up and engrained in my motherfucking mind

TG: dont you fucking dare take advantage of that slip

TT: I wouldn’t dream of it.

EB: okaaaaaaay……

EB: whatever the fuck that was aside, you two are related?

EB: i mean, that kinda makes sense, since you two _kinda_ do look alike. like, a lot alike. 

EB: twins almost!

TT: John, don’t get him started.

TG: pssh rose WISHES she could have these looks

TT: And there he goes.

TG: im a fucking supermodel compared to her

TG: move aside kylie jenner theres a new bitch in town and hes hotter than ever

TG: my strut down the catwalk is so deadly it could kill a man.  if i were to wink at the crowd id get arrested for being a terrorist just because of the sheer amount of fallout thered be afterwards

TG: why do you think i wear these sunglasses? because theyre cool as fuck? 

TG: no

TG: its because theres simply too much power in a wink _alone_

TT: That  _ entire _ tangent aside, I do have to agree with Dave. We aren’t identical to each other.

TT: Only I'm the onewho has all the looks  _ and _ the brains. Bow to my ultimate superiority.

EB: smh.

EB: you guys are blind _and_ weird. you both look alike, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

TG: yeah well

TG: you and jade look almost _exactly_ alike

TG: whats up with that huh?

TT: Dave, are you  _ really _ getting defensive right now? Because attacking John-who you personally broughtthe conversation-isn’t the best way to deal with your apparent trauma.

TT: Albeit, temporary trauma it looks like. Being half-related to me doesn’t seem as scarring as you’re making it out to be.

EB: nah rose he’s kinda got a point.

EB: not the whole being related to you is terrible thing though, because i wouldn't mind having you as a sister or whatever, but the whole me and jade relation situation.

EB: ha that rhymed!

EB: yeah we’re related.

EB: did you honestly not know? that’s like common knowledge dude. egberts and harleys, related through some weird kinda family shenanigans. probably some cousin or something.

TG: i just fucking found out that im related to rose and now i fucking find out that youre related to jade

TG: theres an entire fucking conspiracy about family _alone_

TG: maybe ill find out theres a whole double reacharound where i find out im related to you and jade too

TT: Actually, there is a plot. A nice, gift-wrapped plan, topped off with a beautiful conspiratorial bow. How lovely.

TT: The labs at Harley Labs wanted to make sure that everybody apart of the program created children that would grow up with aspect ingrained in them.

TT: Thus, artificial impregnation.  I feel somewhat like a purebred dog, with all this genetic grooming Harley Labs is engaging in.

TG: damn i do too

TG: now im glad you didnt tell me in person

TG: id probably fainted like some southern belle or whatever.  my hand wouldve fluttered to my chest and i wouldve died from some kinda heart palpitations because of the sheer shock i wouldve gone through

TG: good job on avoiding my untimely death

TT: I do my best.

TG: and i guess that being related to you isnt as bad as im making it out to be

TG: but if you try to force some kinda family bonding day or whatever then im gonna completely and totally disown you like  the papers would hit you so fast youd need reconstructive surgery

TT: I'll keep that in mind. 

TT: I suppose I'll just cancel the trip to the aquarium then, and tell the shirt company that I won't need the family reunion shirts after all.  Thanks for being a spoil-sport Dave.

TG: dammit rose you shouldve told me we were going to the fucking  _aquarium_

TG: i wouldve come for that

EB: is this what it's like to have a sister?

EB: cuz if it is then it's kinda weird

EB: why are we all only children

TG: how the fuck would i know i didnt know i had a half-sister until like 5 minutes ago and shes fucking weird as shit

TG: no offense rose

TT: None taken. You aren't exactly the paragon of normalcy either.

TT: Besides, it's more like 30 minutes you've known about your sister, to be exact.  Please  _try_ to be precise, Dave. The Lalonde family has a reputation to uphold.

TT: Or would it be Strider-Lalonde now? I don't think my mother ever married.

TG: strider-lalonde is too much of a mouthful and pretty fucking pretentious

TG: i cant introduce myself like that ill lose all my street cred

EB: you never had any street cred to begin with

TG: ill get negative street cred then

TG: look like a gigantic fucking nerd might as well beat me up and shove me in a locker while youre at it

EB: why not just try strilonde?  it kinda rolls off the tongue. 

EB: striiiiiilonde

TT: I suppose I'll sacrifice my dignity if it'll get Dave to stop whining about his dropping street status.

TT: Strilonde it is then.

EB: i guess i’ll update jade about this? i think she’d like to know.

TT: Not yet.

TG: “not yet”

TG: didnt you throw this big stink about not telling jade shit that we found out?

TT: I said that I didn’t want to withhold information from Jade if my aspect didn’t find it necessary.  But, my aspect is going off like I’ve accidentally left my apple pie inside the oven for too long, and the house is currently entrenched in fucking flames.

TT: So, as I said before, don’t tell Jade just yet.

TT: Not until I give the okay, and then you can blab to her with your heart's desire

EB: okay

EB: before you close the chat i've got like one question

TT: Shoot.

EB: who's older

TT: Me.

TG: me

EB: uhhhhh.......

EB: you guys can't both be older than the other

TG: john imma be real here

TG: im the oldest

TG: cuz im the coolest

TT: That is a flawed statement. If, by that logic, the oldest is the coolest, then let me just say in actuality  _I'd_ be the oldest.

TG: rose im totally bursting your bubble but you arent fuckin cool

TT: Tsk. That's no way to talk to your older, loving sister. Shame on you.

TT: I suggest we settle this like men.  Give me your birthday.

TG: hell no

TT: Why not Dave? Are you worried about the possibility that I could be older than you?

TG: im more worried about you doing some weird fuckshit on my birthday and passing it off as some loving sisterly bullshit

EB: his birthday is december third. sidenote, mine is on april thirteenth, so i better get a present.

TG: dammit john

TT: Damn. Mine is December 4th.  I suppose you are older then.

TG: damn straight

TG: dont do any fuckshit on my birthday or ill turn around and do some weirdass bs on your birthday too

TT: I wouldn't dream of it.

TT: I'll have Jade do it instead.

TG: good

TG: wait what

**tentacleTherapist [TT] CLOSED CHAT!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy hs day bros.


	13. i heard you like puzzles, so i put a puzzle in your puzzle so you can puzzle while you puzzle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who doesn't enjoy a nice game of paintball in 1000 degree weather?
> 
> Everybody, that's who.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the meme in the title is so old smh.

Rose laid flat on her back, thinking about the information that her mother had given. The words her mother had scribbled onto the cake haunted her.

What exactly was her mother trying to warn her against? While Rose already knew that the Harley’s were hiding a walk-in closet brimming with skeletons, she didn’t know if her mother was trying to warn her against something else as well. She hadn’t tried to make contact at all, and it was frankly, worrying. Should she even trust her mother as it was? After all, she had never acted like this before, and Renee could be taking advantage or Rose's naivety-

No. Rose had already decided that Renee wasn't a player in the passive aggressive war, and that it was just her own lingering feelings of resentment still having a go at her brain.

She pushed down her worries, and went down to the kitchen, ready to drown her feelings in artificial food. She bumped into Jade on the way out, causing her to drop the holoscreen she was busy staring at.

“Oops! My fault,” Rose apologized, bending over to pick up the screen.

Jade swooped down and picked it up before Rose could get a good look at the holoscreen. “No prob, Rose! I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going!”

“What are you working on?” Rose asked, trying to peer at the screen that Jade kept edging closer and closer behind her back.

“Ah, nothing important!” Jade said cheerily. “Just some miscellaneous files on the flash drive, but they’re boring, you probably don’t really want to read them.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “When you put it _that_ way, I’m going to really want to read them.”

Jade rolled her eyes, and pulled the screen from behind her back, passing it to Rose, but not before she subtly flicked her finger and changed the file to something else.

“It’s just taxes, Rose,” Jade said. “Nothing special.”

“Uh huh,” Rose muttered, scrolling through the innumerous amounts of tax reports there were. She handed it back to Jade, saying “The taxes look clean, at least. No attempts at evasion.”

Jade shrugged. “When you’re dealing with something as important as superpowered people, you don’t wanna get caught for not paying your taxes and risk exposing the whole shebang.” Jade sidestepped around Rose. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a _lot_ of digging to do,” Jade said. “If only there were other hackers to help me…”

“I’ll bemoan your fate for you,” Rose said. “After all, I lost my best friend to a flash drive.”

Jade smirked. “I’m sorry, but the flash drive is just _so_ interesting with all it’s diabolical secrets.”

“Oh well, if they’re _diabolical_ , then please, continue being a shut in,” Rose said drily. “I’ll just treasure the few moments I pass by you in the hallways.”

Jade grinned apologetically as she slid into her room and shut the door firmly behind her while Rose bit her lip suspiciously. It was odd as to why Jade wouldn’t want Rose to look at whatever she was working on, considering that they were all in this together. Rose thought back to the conference she and the boys had about telling each other things that they didn’t want to tell Jade just yet. She decided to hold off on telling the others quite just yet, as her aspect told her to wait and bide her time.

So, she bid her time, and continued her way to the kitchen. While she was busy messing around in the kitchen, the holocron crackled and a hologram of Jacob Harley appeared.

“Hello Rose!” he said pleasantly. “I see you’ve found the food packet stores.”

Rose shrugged. “They’re easier to than actually _making_ food.”

“Good point. Anyways, can you gather your teammates for me please? I’d thought we’d have a nice impromptu meeting while you’re over there and I’m over here.”

Rose smirked. “Classic Harley, can’t go more than a few days without having a meeting.” She stood to go gather the rest of her group but she was stopped by Jacob.

“You know you can use the blue-tooth’s I’ve provided, right?” he asked. “No point in getting up.”

“You’re suggesting that instead of finding my group members individually, I can summon them with a few words with small devices?”

“When you put it that way, it sounds extremely sinister.”

“It’s what I do best. Anyways, I’ve still got to get them one by one, considering we don’t have them on us right now. I’ll try to distribute them during the meeting.”

Jacob waved her off. “Bah, no worries! I’ll do it myself at a later date. For now, just grab everybody and put them into the living room.”

After she had gathered everybody into the living room per Jacobs directions, he began their impromptu meeting.

“You’ve all settled in ok?” Jacob asked hopefully once the group was settled in. Rose couldn’t tell where he was, but he was probably sitting in his office. The hologram of Jacob was slightly static-y on this end because the holocron was a bit older than the model at the labs, but it was clear enough to see that Jacob looked nervous. They hadn’t split on the best of terms, after all, and while Jacob probably knew that Rose and Jade would be the quickest to forgive from his years of experience with them, he didn’t know the boys that well.

John nodded. “There was an hour or so where I was hopelessly lost in the mansion, but we’re all fine.”

“Fantastic,” Jacob said, exhaling a breath of relief. “I would’ve come along with you, but I still need to deal with the media, and also this old geezer is still a bit sore from his beating.”

“Hey, that’s a funny story,” Rose interrupted quickly. “How _did_ you heal so fast? You were beaten close to death, but the next day you were _perfectly_ fine.”

Jacob’s eyes twinkled as he lifted a finger to his mouth. “I never reveal my secrets.”

Rose rolled her eyes at Jacob’s evasion.

“Anyways, that’s not the only reason why I called,” Jacob said. “I also wanted to make sure that you all are training at least three times a week. While Neytiri would’ve been the one to set that up, the mansion that your rooming in is quite old and hasn’t been updated in quite some time. So, I’ll be in charge of training until she gets installed!”

Jacob pressed a few characters on his keypad offscreen, and a panel of the wall lifted up, revealing a huge television screen. On it was a map, with a trail outlined in red.

“I want you all to go to this location,” Jacob explained. “But, seeing as you youngsters today can barely maneuver without Google Maps to guide you, I’ve taken the liberty of installing map software in your helmets. Get suited up, and I’ll meet you there!”

The holocron shut off, and another panel lifted from the wall, revealing the training suits inside a glass case, the newly outfitted helmets rested on top. A handprint scanner emerged from the wall next to the case as well.

“That man _loves_ his hidden wall panels,” John said, amused.

Rose shrugged. “It’d be a waste of a perfectly good mansion if you _didn’t_ put in hidden wall panels,” she said. “After all, if I was an eccentric billionaire, I’d most definitely put secret walls and passages everywhere.”

“Remind me to never visit you when we get older,” Dave said. “I don’t want to do a fucking sudoku or whatever just to find your bathroom.”

“I guess you’re not coming over to my house either!” Jade said. “Because I’m gonna have _hella_ puzzles at my place. There’s gonna be a puzzle _for_ the puzzle to get to the bathroom.”

John nodded. “And I’d just rig my house to drop water on people whenever somebody opens a door. Looks like you’re stuck at your own house Dave.”

“Good,” Dave said, standing and shaking his head. “Cuz y’all are nuts. Please _don’t_ remind me why I’m friends with you again.” He went to the display case, and put his hand on the handprint scanner. The scanner beeped, and the glass lifted. Grabbing his, he glanced at the rest of them one last time before shaking his head in disappointment and leaving the living room to go change.

* * *

While Rose was eager to get out the log cabin-mansion after being cooped up inside for almost three days, it was deplorably hot outside. The kind of heat where if you were to go outside, you would go right back in and throw yourself into the freezer immediately. However, Rose lacked the opportunity to throw herself into the Harley’s walk-in freezer and stay there forever, as she had to be outside for training. She never cursed the Harley name more.

Eyeing the map that was in the right hand corner of her visor, she checked how long she would have to walk. The map said that the location was fifteen minutes away, which honestly felt like a lifetime. It wasn’t like the walk was relieved by easy chatter, as the entire fifteen minutes was filled with complaints and bitterness.

“It’s so _hot_ ,” John complained, tugging at the collar of his attire. “Why’d we have to go somewhere that’s hot like, _all_ the time?”

Jade nodded, fanning herself. “I know New York can get pretty hot, but I’m gonna _die_ out here! John, can you use your aspect to make it windier and cool us down _please_?”

“Sadly, there’s barely any wind out, and trying to make that much wind would take too long. I’d be dead by the time I mustered up enough,” John sighed.

“You’re all a bunch of _babies_ ,” Dave said. “I’ve seen heat like you wouldn’t be- _lieve_.”

John rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically. “Please don’t start with the whole spiel about how you couldn’t go outside for fear of dying and melting in the middle of the street. I’ve heard that story _waaaaaaaay_ too many times.”

“Too fucking late, I’ve already pushed the story ball down the hill and it’s picked up so much speed that you might as well just let it keep rolling,” Dave said. “Anyways, I literally saw someone fall down and melt when I looked outside once. Cars would stop in the middle of the road because their tires melted. Ice cream would melt in a manner of seconds-!”

“You’re lying!” John cried. “I’ve _been_ to Houston, it’s not that bad!”

“John, what possible motivation could I have for lying to you?” Dave said. “I’m just trying to educate the poor, feeble-minded masses on what heat actually is.”

The reached the part of the forest that Jacob had directed them to go. In front of them was a large tree with large, gnarled roots. Inbetween the gaps of the roots, a steel box rested there, bearing the Harley insignia.

Jade dragged it out and walked back to the group, dropping it with a loud thump. Pressing a finger to her comm, she said “We got the box Grandpa. Now what?”

“Now open the box,” Jacob directed. “You should see some paintball guns. Now, this isn’t a coincidence. To measure the extent your abilities, I want you all to face each other!”

“Are there any rules? Or is this a free for all, do whatever you want kinda thing?” John asked worriedly. “Because, I mean, I don’t really want to be at the mercy of my teammates here. They’re kinda….. _competitive_.”

“Not to worry Johnny boy, there’s just one rule,” Jacob answered. “If you get hit, then you’re out of the exercise. _But_ , I don’t want you all to try to get out on purpose just to avoid the heat! Other than that, have fun!”

The feed cut out, and in unison the training suits stealth mode activated.

“That's not reassuring,” John said slowly. ”What now?”

Dave shrugged, picking up a red gun from the metal box. “You heard the man. We fight to the death.”

“It’s not to the _death_ , Dave, it’s just training,” Jade said, rolling her eyes. “But yeah, if you get hit by paintballs, you’re gonna want to die. So, try to avoid getting hit.”

“Such stellar advice,” Rose deadpanned, picking up a blue gun and passing it to John. “Please, tell us more.”

Jade rolled her eyes. “ _Anyways_ , I vote we establish some more ground rules, just to ease John’s nerves a bit,” Jade suggested, gesturing to a nervous John. “We get as far away from each other as we can in thirty seconds. No teaming up, no head shots, no time traveling or whatever kind of physical powers you’ve got, and finally…”

She paused, looking at John ruefully. “ _No mercy_.”

“Now,” Jade said, grabbing the last gun. “Let’s begin!”

* * *

Rose huffed as she ran through the thickest and darkest part of the forest. She wanted to get as far away from Jade as possible. Jade was nice, and her best friend, but she was ultra competitive and a trickshot, and Rose didn’t want to be tagged out in the first couple of seconds. Yes, she was definitely going to get out, because it was a given that she wasn’t going to win if she went toe to toe with Jade, but that didn’t mean she still couldn’t _try_ with the other two.

She stopped running long enough for her to catch her breath. The forest was silent, and Rose could only hear her heavy breathing, as she’d turn off her bluetooth. She stood straight up, and examined her surroundings. Everything in the redwood forest reminded her of the forest that used to surround her home, only the scenery here was looked like there was a thin layer of static laid over it, which was odd, considering the forest a few meters back was clearer.

Rose walked around a bit, trying to get a layout of the land. She never really played in the forest back home, but she did explore into the depths of the forest often when she was younger in search of the paranormal. Sadly, she didn’t find more than a few oddly shaped trees and rocks, but she did manage to memorize what her own forest looked like generally.

This forest couldn’t be much different. After all, it was just a bunch of trees and shit.

She decided to set a gameplan to try and win. After all, Jade just said she couldn’t use her light manifestation, not her future vision. However, when she tried to tap into her aspect, it was silent, and didn’t offer anything besides static.

 

Odd.

 

She tried again, but she just got more static. It was like her aspect was being blocked by some unforeseen force.

Rose heard the sudden snap of a twig behind her, and she whirled around, her finger already on the trigger.

 

But she wouldn’t have shot anything, as nobody was there.

 

Rose was starting to feel a bit creeped out, like she was being watched. She considered turning back the direction she came from, but a paintball whizzed right in front of her face. Instinct kicked in, and she dropped to the ground immediately, rolling away from the direction the paint ball had fired from and into some bushes. Rose heard the paint hit a tree, and glancing at it, she saw the splatter of red paint slowly dripping down.

 

Dave.

 

“You’re a crap shot, Dave!” she called out.

“What can I say? I’m used to a sword, not a gun.” His voice came from everywhere, and Rose couldn’t pinpoint his exact location, so she assumed he was using temporal copies of himself to mask his location. Cheater.

Another shot rang out, and a paintball hit the ground 2 inches away from her with a _thwack!_ Aspect or not, Rose knew she couldn’t stay in this position for much longer.

She scooted quietly towards some undergrowth, hoping it would hide her from Dave’s sharp eyes. Rose heard more shots being fired further away from her, but they were still too close for comfort.  She started to crawl away from the sounds and _hopefully_ away from Dave, who had fallen silent again. She used her aspect one last time to judge if it was safe to get up, and surprisingly, her aspect responded!

Feeling relieved, Rose stood, but she didn’t stand fully because that would’ve been a dumbass decision. She walked away from the area, still on edge. Besides the whole encounter with Dave in general, she was still slightly spooked by the weird part of the forest she was in. She was glad that the twig was probably just Dave not being sneaky enough, because honestly, Rose didn’t have time for paranormal shit right now. The forest looked clearer here as well, and Rose assumed that it was just the lighting that made everything look washed out and static-y, and not some murdered ghost haunting the area that just so happened to block her aspect.

 

But something in the back of her mind was itching, saying that wasn’t the case.

 

She dismissed the thought for right now. She had more prevalent issues to deal with, like how Rose hadn’t encountered anybody else other than Dave (if you even call that an encounter), and she didn’t know who else was still in. Worrying herself about lighting and twigs was only going to get her shot.

She spied a clearing a little ways away, and edged her way inside. Probably a bad idea, but her aspect wasn’t going off, so it couldn’t be _that_ bad. Walking around the edge, she wrapped her arms around herself, the temperature around her suddenly dropping. The wind began to kick at her hair a little as she walked closer and closer to the middle, disregarding the obvious reasons as to why she really shouldn’t walk in the middle of a clearing. She liked to live dangerously, after all.

Rose rubbed her arms to warm them up, wondering why the temperature would drop so steeply, as it was absurdly hot outside. Her aspect started to ring the warning bells as the wind continued to pick up speed, and Rose wondered why her aspect would be so jumpy right now-

 

Wait.

 

John had said that there was barely any wind outside.

 

As soon as she made this realization, she tried sprinting for the other side of the clear, but it was too late. A large gust knocked her off her feet, and she heard rambunctious cackling as John landed on the ground near her.

“I thought you were smarter than that, Rose! Everybody knows that in paintball, you don’t walk into wide open spaces!”

Rose rolled her eyes and shot him in the chest, cutting him short of whatever else he was going to say. “You also don’t spend time monologuing.”

John took this as an opportunity to fall to the ground dramatically. “Oh Rose,” he cried, flinging a hand to his head. “How could you do that when you know I have a _family_? Please, grant a man his dying wish, and tell my wife and children that I love them!”

Rose rolled her eyes as she stood up, brushing herself off. “You’re milking it John.”

He lifted his head. “You think? I thought it was a rather nice touch for my death scene. I was gonna tell you about my daughter Casey, and how I wouldn’t be able to see her grow up and-”

“Perhaps you should work on the theatrics a little,” Rose interrupted quickly. John could go on _such_ a tangent about his fake children, it was ludicrous.

Helping John up, she asked “Anyways, do you know where the other’s are? I’d like to get the drop on them, considering everybody seems to be ignoring the no physical powers rule.”

“Uh, Rose, I’m dead,” John said. “I can’t really tell you where anybody is. You’re a soothsayer, not a medium.”

“Dammit!” Rose huffed. Maybe she should’ve stalled a bit before shooting him, considering he _was_ monologuing.

“ _However_ ,” John said as he removed his helmet to cool down. “I _can_ use my last dying words to tell you that-”

A gunshot echoed in the woods, interrupting whatever John had to say as red paint splattered on the side of his head.

“What the hell Dave!” John yelled, clutching his head with a hand.  “Jade said no headshots!”

“That wasn’t a headshot, it was insurance that you were dead!” Dave yelled from somewhere in the trees. “Can’t use your last dying words if you don’t have a head to tell them!”

John gave Rose a pitying look. “He’s kinda right, Rose. It’s looks like I’m officially out of the playing field.” He saluted Rose and walked away, leaving her alone with Dave.

“You can’t hide forever, Dave!” Rose yelled, scanning the tree’s for anything while surreptitiously backing her way out of the clearing.

Silence. Dave had disappeared again.

Cursing under her breath, Rose walked back into forest again. The only person she’d had yet to encounter was Jade, and Rose was dreading every moment. Jade visited the shooting range since she was nine, and she was skilled with almost every gun, especially the rifle.

 

And the paintball gun looked very much so like a rifle.

 

Rose crept nervously through the forest, jumping at every snap of the twig, expecting to find sudden death at the hands of either Jade or Dave. Even though it was just a paintball game, it wasn’t like Rose _wanted_ to get shot, as her competitive streak _compelled_ her to win. It was a truly terrible dilemma, as Rose knew that she couldn’t possibly win, even _if_ her inner soccer-mom was yelling at her to kick the metaphorical ball into the metaphorical net and score a metaphorical goal.

She heard more pops of the paintball gun in the distance, and then a loud groan that could only mean one thing:

Rose and Jade were the only one’s left.

Well, it looks like it’s time to start planning her funeral, because Rose was _officially_ dead meat. Really, it was quite a surprise that she made it this far, considering she wasn’t very good with a gun, and was expecting to first out.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Rose tapped into her aspect, which told her that if she distracted Jade at the last second, Rose would have the best chance at possibly winning. The chance wasn’t that high to begin with, but it wasn't like she had anything to lose.

A few moments later, Rose heard the telltale crunch of leaves as Jade emerged from behind a tree. Her gun clicked, and Rose could feel the barrel on her back.

“It looks like I’ve got you Rose. Any last words?” Jade said, and Rose could practically hear the smugness dripping off of her words.

Rose smirked. Jade had fallen for her trap.

“Yeah, this,” Rose said, and threw the handful of dust and leaves she had gathered. Yeah, it wasn’t that good of an idea, and would just piss Jade off more than anything, but a distraction was a distraction.

She heard Jade yelp and jump back, her gun clattering to the forest floor. Rose marched over and pointed the gun between Jade’s surprised eyes.

“Any last words, Harley?” Rose asked confidently, echoing Jade’s previous words.

Jade looked shocked for a second, but her eyes narrowed and she smiled mischievously. “Nope!”

Rose’s aspect spiked but it was too late.

In one fell swoop, Jade swiped her gun up off the ground and shot Rose in the stomach.

* * *

“She got you _good_!” John crowed in the cabin-mansion later on.

“Shut up John,” Rose muttered, shucking off her boots and letting her feet breathe.

Jade emerged from her room, hair wet from her shower. “John, are you still teasing Rose? Remember, you were the first one out for _monologuing_.”

Dave smacked John in the arm. “Yeah John, _remember_?”

John rolled his eyes. “Whatever man, I’m just saying that Rose should’ve taken the shot.”

“Ah yes, because I’m going to shoot my best friend in the face. If anything, I would’ve used her weak will to make her surrender to me,” Rose said.

“Hey!” Jade cried out indignantly. “I’m not _that_ weak willed!”

“Isn’t Bec supposed to be on a diet?” Rose said. “Yet, he’s five pounds overweight because _somebody’s_ feeding him more treats than he needs.”

Jade threw hands up in defense. “It’s not _my_ fault! Bec has those puppy dog eyes that I just can’t resist! Also, I’m not the only one who feeds him extra treats, _Rose_.”

“He deserves those treats because he’s a good boy,” Rose sniffed. “Not because I want him to be that way.”

“E _-xactly_ ,” Jade said, towelling off her hair. “Anyways, you all need to talk to Grandpa, he wants to check up on you guys or whatever.”

Rose narrowed her eyes. “That’s just a thinly veiled excuse to stop arguing,” she said.

Jade gave Rose the finger and walked back into her room, shutting the door.

* * *

“What’s up Mr. Harley?” John asked.

“I wanted to let you all know that the Neytiri AI is fully up and running!” Jacob said. “I also meant to tell you about the guide for the mansion-”

“A _guide_?” Dave asked, incredulous. “You’re telling me there’s a _manual_ for a house?”

Jacob chuckled. “Not exactly, Mr. Strider. It’s a guide that tells you how to work the house. All the technology, where everything is located, procedures for if the government ever finds you-”

“Is this _still_ government property?” John asked worriedly. “Are the feds gonna kick down the door one day?”

“Looks like that’s my cue to leave!” Jacob said cheerily. “My dearest sister should be coming around to check up on you soon, as she’s got a meeting in that area. Do be nice to her, I don’t want her coming back raving about the hell children I’m training over there.”

He waggled his fingers in goodbye and the hologram of him blinked off. A small panel of wall lifted, and a thick book laid on a pedestal. A small light flickered on, and the book was lit just enough so that Rose could read the title:

_Working A Technologically Advanced House For Assholes (Now 20% More Fucking Informative for All You Dumbasses Out There)_

Dave sighed, and stood to get the book. Walking back, he flipped through it and muttered “Still can’t fucking believe that there’s a fucking manual for this house.”

Rose shrugged. “I think the manual would be rather helpful. I’d like to learn more about the secrets of this Harley mansion.”

John nodded in agreement. “We do want to unearth all the secrets that the Harley’s are hiding, and the house could provide some pretty useful insight! Though the title could be nicer though.”

“They really shouldn’t have picked that company to make the manual,” Rose agreed. “Half of the insults are just incoherent key mashing. It's more of an insult to my intelligence.”

“Yo, guys, look at this,” Dave said, holding up the book. “Apparently, there’s like some kinda secret hallways and rooms inside the walls-”

Rose leapt up in victory, pumping a fist into the sky. “I knew it!”

John raised an eyebrow questioningly. “You knew what exactly?”

“When we first arrived, I thought there was the possibility of there being hidden passages hidden inside the walls, because it’d be an absurd waste of money if you have a lot of money and don’t use it to build hidden compartments,” Rose explained, sitting back down. “I was starting to think that I was getting all these splinters for nothing.”

 

Dave and John stared at Rose for an uncomfortable amount of time

 

“You trailed the walls for hallways,” Dave said.

“And didn’t think to ask yourself if there could even _be_ secret hallways,” John finished.

Rose shrugged. “If Jacob decides to put secret panels in the walls, what’s to stop him from putting in secret hallways?”

John nodded in agreement. “Good point.”

Rose motioned for Dave to pass the guide over, and he passed it over begrudgingly. Flipping through it, the contents looks rather interesting by chapter titles alone (she made a special note to check out _The Secret Libraries and You, You Giant Fucking Book Whore_ ).

“Perhaps we should try and setup some of the defenses,” Rose said idly. “Wouldn’t want some random hiker coming across our home, right?”

John nodded. “Or the Felt.”

“Man, fuck the Felt, I’m more worried about the AI of the house,” Dave said, gagging. “I don’t want fuckin’ _Neytiri_ hounding our asses all the damn time.”

“There might be other AI’s for the house,” Rose said. She flipped through the book, landing on a chapter too horribly obscene to name. “It says here that you can use a program a normal AI without a personality core,” she said, pointing to a diagram. “Perhaps we can get Jade to program it?”

“Hell no, not Jade,” John said. “She’d fucking do some weird shit like make it play Rick Astley every day. I’d rather have Neytiri than whatever Jade would come up with.”

Rose patted John comfortingly. “I’ll try to convince her to try to be restrain her eccentric tendencies, but no promises.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> why is neytiri a character. out of all the things i could've made the artificial intelligence _why her_.
> 
> everybody's blaming jade for being meme trash, but we all have to think about the person who actually corrupted her. rose. it was rose who corrupted her. dammit rose.
> 
> rose searching for secret passages is a very logical thing to do. if i was her then i would definitely be searching the hell outta some old mansion.
> 
> also i believe its safe to say that the log cabin-mansion is always going to be government property, but the government has given up on trying to boot the harleys.
> 
> speaking of log cabin-mansions, i'm going to post the photo that i used as inspiration for the cabin-mansion on my tumblr. search under the tag "is it a bird?" and it should be there!
> 
> ps: now is the time for questions! shit's getting mostly resolved in the next chapter, and i wanna make sure most questions about the conspiracy shit is answered!


	14. fruity rumpus asshole factory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Online conversations can lead to many paths, and can go downhill very, very quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another pesterlog!!! man i love writing those

**tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering gardenGnostic [GG] at 6:12 AM! **

TT: Jade, have you made any headway on the flashdrive?  I’m getting rather bored being by myself all the time.

GG: you have neytiri to give you company!

TT: Jade, please.  If I’ve sunk so low to where I’ve resorted to talking to the AI, I might as well just run away and live out the rest of my life as an isolated Icelandic sheep herder.

TT: At least I’ll have more company than I do currently. Although I don’t think sheep make great conversationalists.

GG: cant you bother dave? or john? maybe even both?????

TT: Ugh, fine.

**tentacleTherapist [TT] added ectoBiologist [EB] AND turntechGodhead [TG] to the chat!**

GG: D: 

GG: why!!!!!

GG: why are you doing this to me rose!!!

TT: You told me to bother John and Dave, so here I am bothering them both.

GG: eurgh not here!!

TT: Perhaps you should make your words a little clearer. They’re very easy to misinterpret, y’know.

GG: (or very easy to twist)

TT: What was that?

GG: nothing

TG: whoa whoa whoa

TG: am i being dragged into some kinda lovers spat

TT: Nothing like that.

TT: Jade just refuses to take a break.

GG: im sorry but this is important!

TT: Yes, but your mental health is also important. Regardless of whether or not I want to spend time with you, I have to make sure that you aren’t working yourself to death. 

EB: yeah jade

EB: people straight up die if they work too hard

GG: ugh...

GG: stop caring so much about me! i’ll take a break soon, don’t worry!

TG: jade i gotta give it to ya straight

GG: not you too…

TG: youve been working hella hard

TG: its about time you crashed

GG: i

GG: am

GG: FINE!!!!!!!

TT: Look at this obvious cry for help.

TT: It’s apparent you needed this intervention. I’m glad I had the foresight to set this up for you. 

GG: you set this up to complain about you needing friends to be with

TT: Yes, but I’m going to take advantage of this.  When’s the last time you’ve gotten some sleep?

GG: last night???? stop questioning me about my sleeping patterns >:(!!!

TT: That is such an obvious lie. 

TT: I’m honestly offended that you would do this to me, your dear and most loving friend.  John, we’re going to have to form a brigade, and call it “Loving Friend Interventions: For all your friends who refuse to sleep a normal times.”

EB: i’m down for that

TG: rose you have no authority over this like

TG: at all

TG: i straight up told yesterday you to go to bed and you told me you would sleep when you were dead

TT: I was sleep deprived.

TG: because you stayed up until six in the morning

TT: I refuse to be attacked like this. 

EB: rose you’re getting kicked out of the club

EB: dave, i nominate you to take rose’s place

TT: Mutiny!

TG: i accept.  thanks dude

GG: now you know what it feels like rose!

TT: Hush you, you’re still the main focus here.  My sleeping habits aren’t up for discussion right now.

GG: yet!

GG: watch your back rose, or im gonna stage an intervention and you wont even know it!  like one of those spy movies only instead of espionage and spies its self care and loving friends

TT: How the tables have turned.

GG: how about this:  if i go to sleep soon and maybe come out of my room a few times a day will you all leave me alone????

TT: Of course. 

GG: :D

EB: now that jade is out of the way

EB: i think the time has come to talk about rose.

GG: gladly!

TT: Don’t.

TG: yes

TG: youve obviously been pretty fucking stressed out with worry about jade  maybe you should take a break too

TT: Do not.

EB: you’ve also seemed very lonely lately

EB: do you need to talk to a therapist? i happen to know one that’s really close

TT: If you continue this charade, I will close the chat.

GG: i happen to have a few stress relief teas that you can have!!!!! <3

**tentacleTherapist [TT] closed the chat!**

**gardenGnostic [GG] opened the chat!**

**gardenGnostic [GG] added tentacleTherapist [TT], ectoBiologist [EB], and turntechGodhead [TG]!**

TT: Why must I be subjected to my friends passive-aggressively caring for me?

GG: revenge! >:)

EB: it had to happen at one point or another.

TT: I’ve never setting up an inadvertent intervention for any of you ever again.  If any of you happen to become drunkards, don’t call me looking for help.

EB: we won’t, believe me.

TT: I cannot believe all of my helpful tendencies are being thrown back into my face. Perhaps I'll just retreat into a cave for the rest of my life, muttering quietly to myself about my three supposed friends that forsook my talents.

TT: I hope you all enjoy sealing my fate for me.

GG: rose youre being really melodramatic right now

TT: There's a reason for that, and it's called you.

GG: >:T

EB: jade how do you deal with rose on a daily basis

GG: i have no idea!!

TT: Continue talking while I'm right here, please.

GG: shes really needy like all the time!!!

TT: Jade, your blows wound my fragile ego. I fear I'll never recover.

EB: jade do you need an intervention?

TT: No. No more interventions. Not after that one backfired horribly.

TG: tbh you kinda brought that on yourself

TT: Whatever.

TT: I bet you're happy about that Jade.

GG: bgvbhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

TT: Jade?

TT: Hello?

TT: Helloooooooooo?

EB: did she fall asleep?

TT: I should’ve set this up sooner. I swear I’m going to take away her computer.

EB: i’d advise against that.  i tried to do that when you were up in the clinic recovering, and she almost clawed my eyes out.

EB: it was a bad week overall.

TG: we shouldve given her more decaf

EB: we really should’ve.

TT: If you’d like, I can give you a handbook on how to deal with Jade when she refuses to go to sleep. I’ve avoided many injuries because of it.

EB: YES PLEASE

TG: dude she probably made that up 

TG: i bet it doesnt even exist 

EB: i don’t care! i really wanna know how to deal with jade if rose ever dies, so you better get cracking on the manual.

TT: I’m glad to know that you all will be prepared to take over in my stead. 

TG: how long have yall been friends though  like i wouldnt be surprised if you both have managed to build a telepathic bond with each other

TT: No, we don’t have telepathic communication.

TT: Yet.

TT: But we’ve been friends for many years, since I was four.  It’s difficult to imagine life without her.

EB: tbh. 

EB: i’ve only known her for a few months and i can’t even imagine it!

TT: I have a new brigade idea. I’m calling it “The Jade Harley Fanclub”.  You’re all invited, despite your mutinous advances from before.

EB: i’m in

TG: sign me tf up 

TG: but you cant call it a fanclub because that shit is hella weird

TG: im afraid im gonna look out the window in the middle of the night and see you leering in jades window or something being all stalker-y and shit ill have to escort you forcefully off the premises making everything pretty damn embarrassing for both of us

TT: How would that even work? I  _ live  _ here, for fucks sake.

TG: i dunno

TG: but youd find a way to make it work

TT: Dave, have more faith in me than that.  I’d at least hide myself a little better.

EB: yknow jade’s gonna see this when she wakes up, right?

TT: I’m perfectly aware, but she’s seen weirder.

EB: that’s not comforting.

TT: It most certainly is.  Being her best friend forever for as long as I have harbors many embarrassing memories that are better left unsaid.

EB: tell us

TT: Of course.

TT: She went through a scene phase when she was 13.

EB: omg

EB: are you serious?

TT: I have photos.

TG: i cant believe you just outted your best friend like that

TG: whats next is she gonna tell us you were emo in eighth grade

TT: If she ever tells you anything like that, believe it to be a lie.  She doesn’t know what she’s talking about, and while you are talking to her, try to make her recall any oaths that she may or may have not sworn in the past. 

EB: she told me that you cried at the end of marley and me a few months ago

TT: I did no such thing!

TT: If I happened to have ever watched Marley and Me (which I haven’t), I would’ve cried at how deplorably cliche it is.  I mean, let’s be real. Killing the dog off was such an obvious tug at my heartstrings, it was ridiculous.

EB: how would you know they killed the dog if you haven’t watched it?

TG: youve totally watched it rose dont even think of lying

TG: dont be afraid to admit your emotions

TG: even i cried at the end

TG: hot-ass waterfalls i probably jumpstarted the watercycle in my damn livingroom

TT: I can’t read suddenly.

TT: I don't know what any of you are talking about. 

EB: i bet you cried during up too

TG: john thats dumb

TG: everybody cried at up

TG: people who dont cry at up are heartless bastards.  the only person ive ever known to never sob full-fledged tears at up has managed to lodge myself into a corner of my brain with their souless dead eyes

EB: rose just admit to your emotions!  


EB: even dave's owning up to his feelings, and he never does that!

EB: actually dave are you ok right now? do you need to talk man?

TG: nah dude

TG: im just crying at my desktop

TG: chilling with these fresh-ass tears on my face

EB: really?

TG: no

TG: nothing can break this amount of cool

EB: kay man :/

TT: Besides Dave's uncharacteristic emotionalism, I think we all have moments that our friends lord over our heads.  Please take that as a suggestion to reveal each others most personal secrets.

TG: unlike you and jade john and i have a solid connection

TG: wed never sell each other out fucking unbreakable bond right here

TG: right dude

TG: dude

EB: .....................................................................................

EB: (dave once broke his arm trying to save a baby bird but he fell out the tree.)

TG: cmon man

TG: i thought you were better than that.  at least have the decency to stick with the story we came up with

EB: the parkour story is dumb and you and i both know it.

TG: well i guess if were giving each other up like this

TG: john cried like a fuckin baby when i moved away

EB: i am brave enough to say that it was a heart breaking moment.  you were my best friend and next door neighbor for like 13 years.

EB: and after you told me, you moved like the next day man.

TT: Some small part in my brain is poking at me, telling me I'm intruding, but nonetheless please continue while I furiously scribble notes.

TG: shit i forgot you were still here

TG: catching me at my most vulnerable thanks rose

TT: No problem.

GG: _!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_

GG: guys i got it cracked!!!!

TT: But I thought you were asleep? Are you sleep cracking?

GG: i wasnt asleep!!

TT: GG: bgvbhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

GG: ok so maybe i was asleep but that doesnt matter

GG: i put it through a program to get through the last few easy locks i didnt feel like breaking myself and it worked!!!

GG: yay me :D

TG: nice job dude

TG: so what are you planning to do now

GG: i dunno

GG: i was thinking about making a powerpoint but im tired and ill just tell you all now

EB: reveal the secrets! ive been waiting waaaaay too long for this

GG: ok!!

GG: after i cracked the file, i read it, and so ive already got most of the information!

GG: ok first off, theres no conspiracy!!!

GG: just that information was withheld from us because we didnt have high enough ~security clearance~. theres two other teams besides us called “alternia” and “alpha”. were beta!!! alternia has the highest level of clearence because they’ve been around the longest, and we have the lowest because were brand spankin’ new!!!

EB: why don’t we have higher security though?

EB: it doesn’t make a lot of sense to hide information from us if we need it.  i mean we’ve been with mr. harley for so long he should’ve told us more by now!

GG: exactly!!!! but there’s a reason for that :)

GG: do you remember the first meeting we had with grandpa??? when he told us we were gonna get aspects???

GG: it was like that basically with alternia and alpha, only grandpa told them more stuff at the beginning, like about the organization, felt, and lord english.

TT: And why would he do that?  It doesn’t make sense to tell new recruits everything.

GG: theres a graph that charts the amount of felt presence in an area. over time, felt presence grew exponentially, and so the amount of information that was revealed shrunk over time. we have the record amount of felt around, so we get the least told

GG: i think it was to protect us and harley labs, because if the felt come and kidnap one of us, they could torture us for information, but if we dont know anything then theres no point!!!

GG:  _ also_, grandpa kept a journal that logged their progress in the aspect program. in one of the logs, he says that they finally figured out when the felt would fully rise again, which is actually scarily close D:

EB: so like…. are we behind the others?

EB: considering we didn’t really have the same time to train like alternia and alpha, and since the felt’s gonna rise soon, i feel like this is unfair.

TG: same man

TG: like when was alternia even recruited

TG: i bet theyre like wunderkids

GG: alternia was recruited about 6 years ago, when they were like 12, and alpha was recruited when they were 15, but thats besides the point!! 

GG: basically, theres a timeline that logs how long and hard each group would train for so that we’d all be on theoretical equal footing in combat and aspect!  i cant really count for the extra combat training that alpha and alternia have, but i do know that since most of our aspects manifested this year, we should be pretty much the same there!!!

EB: can we see the groups

EB: it feels weird talking about them and we don’t even know what the hell they look like.

GG: yeah sure :)!!! im gonna send alternia first

GG:  alternia.png

GG: i gotta search for alpha though :(

GG: theyre really hard to find for some reason. i might be inactive for a few minutes

TT: Take your time.

TT: We’ll simply talk about Alternia behind their backs.

EB: i opened it up and wow

EB: that’s a lot of people

EB: imagine if our group was that big. 

TG: i think id die

EB: of course you would, you big anti-social jerk

TG: fuck you egbert

TG: anyways they look like a bunch of fuckin geeks

TG: worse than you john

EB: dave thats hella rude but also you’re right

TT: Why are you shaming their appearance? They look perfectly fine to me.

TG: rose theyre  _ literally _ wearing matching outfits

TG: that screams absolute geekdom

TT: You can’t possibly assume that it was their choice. Take a look at the grumpy one in the corner. You really think they all like it?

TG: im not saying theyre all enjoying it

TG: its just that their suits are fuckin dorky  but fuck dude look at the grumpmeister

TG: grumpy lil fella

EB: we gotta stop making fun of them or karma’s gonna bite us in the ass.

EB: maybe mr. harley will force us to wear those same clothes that they’re wearing. 

TG: oh  _ hell _ no

TG: ill die before he forces us to wear them

GG: oh

GG: oh my gosh

EB: whats up?

GG: our family is here!!!!

GG: like our siblings or cousins or whoever is in california!!!!!!  my BROTHER is a few miles away from me!! im gonna THROTTLE HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TG: can you like

TG: link the picture to us

TG: so we can see what the fuck youre flipping your shit about

GG: oh yeah!!

GG:  OURFAMILY!!!/alpha.png

TG: oh damn

EB: thats my cousin!!

TG: i cant believe it

TG: is that seriously my bro in there

TG: im gonna wring his neck for this i swear

TG: rose you got any family in there

TT: I suppose so? I don’t recognize anybody but Jade’s brother. 

GG: rose im gonna drop a bombshell on you

GG: are you ready???

TT: I guess? Why are you being so dramatic about this?

GG: just making sure you wont die from sheer shock!!!

GG: you see that girl with the pink eyes?????

TT: Yes.

GG: thats your sister!!!!

**tentacleTherapist [TT] logged off!**

TG: damn

TG: shes taking this well

EB: whats that noise?

EB: is that….screaming?

GG: i think thats rose!!

TG: karma bitch

EB: dave now is not the time to bring up whatever vendettas you have against rose!

GG: ???

GG: am i missing something????

TG: yeah a whole conversations worth

TG: you should really get out more

GG: we are not looping the conversation back around to me!!

**tentacleTherapist [TT] logged on!**

TT: Now that that’s over with, are you suggesting the pink eyed female is my sister?

GG: ......yes???

TT: Ok. Just wanted to make sure.

TG: rose why are you flipping your shit about this

TT: Considering my mother told me my sister was dead, it was rather odd to see a perfectly alive one instead.

TT: But I’m cool with it now. 

GG: okay…..if you say so!!

GG: oh before i forget!!!

GG:  secretconspiracies!!!.zip

GG: so you all can read the files ive got!!

TT: Thank you Jade.

TT: I’ll be sure to consult this.

TG: yeah man  ill print it out and put it on the john

TG: itd make some nice reading material

EB: gross dude!

EB: couldn’t you have just said toilet instead?

TG: the opportunity arose and i was pretty sure that if i didnt take it some ancient being would come down and smite me where i stand for the sheer amount of dumbassery i extruded

TG: do want me to die toilet

TG: do you

EB: if you keep talking like that, then yeah

TT: This has descended into madness. I elect that we close the chat before anything we regret happens.

GG: i second!!

EB: i third it

EB: please just end it already rose

TT: The ayes have it. Whoever objects should keep their objections to themselves as they are already outnumbered.

**tentacleTherapist [TT] closed chat!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think the strilondes have a tendency to react violently when confronted with family
> 
> sorry if this feels a little fast. i wrote this in like three days with virtually no editing but whatever!!! its fine!!!!
> 
> some kinda-bad news folks: im gonna go on a small hiatus for like two weeks. finals are coming up, and i want to devote more time to school. however, once im in summer vacay, then ill be ready to write again!!!! probably.


	15. exerting some familial bond

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, family shouldn't be as complicated as it is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bonjour im sorry for saying ill update in two weeks and then updating a month later. but school is out and i can start writing again!!!

Rose was sleeping semi-peacefully when her phone buzzed repeatedly. Angrily, Rose unlocked her phone and read her messages.

**technicalGuidance [TG] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] at 4:13!**

TG: hello rose

TG: this is ur mother

Rose rolled her eyes. Her mother picked the _best_ times to try and talk to her

TT: Mother, it’s 4 in the morning.

TT: Why are you messaging me with the Harley Labs IT handle?

TG: so i wouldn’t be suspicious on my own handle

TG: and yes, ur mother uses pesterchum. beware.

TG: anyways i need to know something

TT: Shoot. I’m already much too awake to go back to sleep.

TG: when u go grimdark, do u hear a voice?

TT: Occasionally, if I’m not consumed yet.

TT: That’s my aspect, most likely speaking to me.

TG: no rose, ur aspect doesn’t speak to u like that

TG: not that clearly

TT: How do you know that my aspect speaks to me, however clear it may be?

TG: please don’t ask how i know, but if that voice ever comes back u _need_ to ignore it

TG: ur aunt suffered from it as well

TG: it’s a man who works for english

TG: i don’t know how he manages to do it, but ppl like u with ur powers are more susceptible to some kinda machine that was made waaaaay back when

TT: Wait, who’s the man?

TT: Who’s English?

TG: i can’t say much, i’ve already flagged this account.

TG: all i gotta say is that if you start hearin a voice that shouldn’t be there

TG: n he sounds kinda suave but also evil

TG: ignore it.

TT: I’d like a lot more clarification?

TT: How could somebody talk to me inside my head using a machine?

TT: How am I supposed to ignore a voice inside my head?

TT: Why do you know more about my aspect than I do?

TG: its not just ur aspect hun even though youve got a higher risk of going grimdark than everyone else

TG: more tests are being run on grimdark to try and find out what the hell it is and why it’s caused, but for now keep an eye on everyone

TG: especially jade bcos there’s been a breakthrough in the labs and there’s a looootta theories flying around that girl

TG: i cant say anything else im sorry

TG: i gotta go, and idk when im gonna be able to talk to u again, if ever

TG: good luck rosie

TG: and before i forget

TG: i love you <3

**technicalGuidance was deleted.**

Rose stared at the words on her screen. Saying that TechnicalGuidance was deleted slightly foreboding, even if her mother was probably the one who deleted it. Still, the messages her mother sent were cryptic.

Like, an evil but suave voice directing her by controlling her mind with a machine? That didn’t make _any_ sense whatsoever! But, her mother sounded urgent, and Rose wanted to try and heed her words. After all, she did warn Rose about the Harley’s, even if it was extremely cryptic and vague like her mother tended to be.

Now that Rose thought about it, it did feel like something subtly directed her actions whenever she went grimdark. Not so much as so as forcibly controlled her, but influenced her.

This only motivated her further to keep her grimdarkness at bay. She hadn’t had an outbreak in quite awhile, and she could feel that rage slowly receding, but it was still there, and she knew it could spring back at any moment. Rose doesn’t know why SkaiaNet would implement this feature in her aspect, as it seemed terribly inconvenient. Ultimate power, but at the risk of killing everybody and probably herself.

Yeah, no thanks.

And what was up with her mother telling her about Jade? Like yeah, Jade definitely suppressed her feelings so it was kind of hard to read her at times, so who knows if she was getting tense or angry or sad and wow Rose _really_ should keep an eye on her. Maybe she should start some kind of one-man therapy group so that she can monitor her friends emotions. Rose probably wouldn’t mind all the extra stress that went along with it, unless it caused _her_ to go grimdark, but that’s a problem for another day.

Now that she was up, Rose tried messaging the mysterious UranianUmbra, as it seemed like the night (or very early morning) to try and talk to the most cryptic of people.

However, it didn’t work. UranianUmbra was always offline, and it was private account that could send messages, but couldn’t receive messages unprompted. Still, they knew about _something_ about the forces they were going up against, and Rose wanted to get as much extra information as she could get.

She couldn’t go back to sleep, so she decided to get a really fucking early start on her day. Maybe make some biscuits from scratch, bake a souffle, marathon Netflix, who knows.

The sun had peeked over the horizon when Rose finally decided to take a shower. It was long and hot, a luxury that was seemingly scarce as Dave thoroughly enjoyed very long showers.

She stepped out the shower, and wrapped herself in a ridiculously fluffy bathrobe. Getting dressed, Rose checked her roots in the mirror of her bathroom. She hadn’t done them in a while, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to. Maybe she’ll let them go this time, and give her hair a break. She put her signature headband on, and smoothed her hair down.

There was a light knocking on her door.

“It’s unlocked!”

It opened slowly, and John poked his head in. “Can I come in?”

"What would be the point of saying the doors unlocked if I didn’t want you coming in?”

“I guess that makes sense.” John walked in and plopped himself down on her bed. “I swear your bed is softer than mine.”

“It’s most certainly is,” Rose replied. “I forgot you woke up at the most disgustingly early hours, otherwise I would’ve swapped this one out with the terrible bed I keep hidden.”

John scoffed. “Waking up at five isn’t disgustingly early. Matter of fact, it’s what _most_ normal people do.”

“We aren’t normal people. You’ve got to let go any shreds of normalcy you may have.”

“If I do that, then who’s gonna keep you guys in line?” John said. “I’m the most normal one around here, I gotta give you guys a sneak peek into what most people have.”

Rose rolled her eyes as she searched through her drawers for some nail polish. Waking early put her in some sort of productive mood, which was horrifying abhorrent. Why not waste her time by doing her nails and beating back the monster that is productivity and getting shit done?

“Anyways, while you’re here, do you need anything?” Rose asked.

John closed his eyes, and propped his arms behind his head. “I’m just chilling, y’know? Enjoying the presence of one of my closest friends.”

“Alrighty then.” Rose joined him on the bed. Turning on the television to some food channel, she opened the bottle of nail polish and began painting her nails.

John cracked open an eye at the smell. “What color is that?”

Rose picked up the bottle and studied it. “Mixed Berry Social Anxiety Disorder, apparently.”

“But it’s just purple?”

“Who am I to judge what the company name their products? It’s pretty catchy, if lengthy.” She shook the bottle towards him. “Want some?”

He extended his hand slowly. “Just the pinky. Mixed Cherry Anxiety or whatever the hell that title was isn’t my color.”

Rose put a dab of color on his nail, and turned her attention to the television. She couldn’t tell what exactly was going on, but it seemed like Guy Fieri seemed to be losing his shit over whatever kind of undiscovered pub he recently found.

“Y’know, my cousin loved this show,” John said. “I don’t understand why, but she did. I think it was along the lines of finding new things gave her ideas for recipes?”

“That’s cool.”

“Do you think we can visit them?” John asked, rolling over to face her. “I mean, the Harleys never said we couldn’t talk to the others, even though they didn’t actually tell us there were other teams out there, so the point’s kinda moot. But, I kinda wanna see my cousin again.”

Rose shrugged. “I think we’re due to visit them, since they haven’t taken the initiative to visit us. Maybe I’ll bake a casserole for them.”

“Cool beans,” John said. “Let’s make a plan.”

* * *

“No, no, absolutely the _hell_ not.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Why are you so against this? A few days ago, you were practically dying from wanting to see some family.”

“I’ve seen Grandpa!”

“A hologram of your grandfather doesn’t count.”

Jade ignored her, instead searching the refrigerator for ingredients for whatever she was making. Rose pulled a cookbook from one of the shelves, and cracked it open.

“I mean, it’s just Jake,” Rose said after a while. “Wouldn’t he want to see you too?”

Jade huffed. “If he wanted to see me, he would’ve come by now. Maybe he just wants space, y’know?”

“You’ve already given him plenty of space,” Rose replied, flipping the page. She sat herself down on a stool near the bar, watching Jade bustle around the kitchen.

Jade nodded, putting the large cake pan she brought out down on the bar top. “Exactly! And I’ll keep on doing that.”

“It’s been three years since you’ve seen him!” Rose cried. “All I’m saying is we pop over for a quick visit, meet everyone and leave.”

Jade shrugged. “I mean...like you said, it’s been three years.” She came to a standstill across the bar from Rose, but avoided her eyes, favoring the countertop instead. Her fingers drew nervous swirls, tracing the marbling on the bar top.

Rose placed her hands gently on top of Jades to still them. “What are you so afraid of?”

“What if he’s changed?” Jade mumbled. Looking up, she met Rose’s eyes. They weren’t watery, but they were worried. “What if he thinks I’m an annoying sister who can’t take a hint as to whether or not he’s cut me off? I mean, he could’ve called, or sent a letter, or even just shot me a quick message on pesterchum but he _hasn’t_. The last time he talked to me was when I almost died, and that could’ve just been him being cordial.”

“There could be a _multitude_ of reasons why he hasn’t talked to you,” Rose said. “You can’t assume that he hates you and let it be that.”

“I’m not saying he hates me!” Jade said. “Just tired. We’ve been around each other for 15 years and he needs a break, and that’s ok.”

Rose sighed, and walked around the counter, pulling Jade into a hug. “I highly doubt that. Jake thinks the _world_ of you, and if anything’s changed, it certainly wouldn’t be that.” She held her at arm's length. “And if somehow that’s _magically_ changed, I suggest we check the forecast for impending meteor showers, because the end of the world _must_ be close.”

Jade smiled slightly. “Maybe not meteor showers, but probably odd temperature fluctuations.”

“See what I mean? The probability of Jake hating you would be the same as the heat in California ever going away. And next time, tell me when you’re feeling like this, because you can’t just stew around in your feelings all the time.”

Jade rolled her eyes, but her smile stayed. “ _Alright_ , I’ll go. You act like my therapist or something. What are you going to do next, analyze why I enjoy the color green so much?”

Rose opened her mouth to respond, but the door swung open, and Dave walked in.

“Don’t mean to interrupt, but you two are like some mushy old geezers that have been friends for like, 70 years and plan on dying together,” he gagged. “I bet if there was an olympics for disgustingly gross friendships, you guys would win all the fucking gold, hands down.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “ _Actually,_ if there was such thing as the olympics that you described, we’d face heated competition from you and John.”

“Nah, we’re both too cool for that,” Dave scoffed. “John and I, all we gotta do is give the other some radical fucking nods and be on our way. Chillest motherfuckers on the planet with an awesome bromance.”

He hopped over the countertop, and briefly scanned the cookbook. “Jade, what the hell are you trying to make?”

“Brownies,” Jade answered, joining Dave. “Don’t they smell delicious?”

“You haven’t even _made_ anything yet,” Dave said, exasperated.

“Dave, you’re supposed to be able to smell their _future_ smell,” Rose said drily. “If Jade and I can do it, then I’m sure you can. However, future Jade needs to take her brownies out, as they’re starting to smell a bit burnt.”

Jade ripped open a bag of brownie mix, and dumped it into the mixing bowl she brought out. “Oh shit, I forgot to set a future timer for those! Quick, pull them out!”

Dave rolled his eyes, and leaned on the bar. “Whatever. Anyways, does the recipe you’re using call for brownie mix? Because that’s some lazy as fuck cookbook writing if it does.”

Jade shook her head, cracking an egg. “No, the recipe doesn’t call for it at all. I’m not actually sure what the recipe is, but Rose is the one who got it out, and she’s been reading out the steps for them. I don’t think she’s sticking to one recipe though.”

“So you’re saying that you two are following two totally different recipes,” Dave said.

“Five, if you count this beef stroganoff I’m about to read aloud,” Rose said. “I must say, it looks pretty good, but it calls for copious helpings of mayo, so I’m not too sure about it.”

Dave rubbed the bridge of his nose, and slowly backed out of the kitchen and into the food packet storage room, and stayed there for a long while.

“Jade, I think we’ve officially lost Dave Strider.”

“Let’s rejoice,” Jade replied, unceremoniously dumping in a stick of butter.

Rose turned the page of the book idly. “Do you think we should ask Dave to come with us and visit Alpha?”

Jade shrugged. “I don’t see why not.”

“But I don’t want him throwing a big fit about it,” Rose said. “We have some major family issues flying around.”

“Well, we could at least let him know that we’re planning on it,” Jade replied. “Maybe he’ll say no at first, and change his mind at the last minute.”

Dave came back out, wielding a shiny package. “Scoot over Harley, I’ve got to make whatever the fuck this is and take the edge that you two caused off.”

“You might want to leave your edge alone, considering you might need it after what we’re about to ask you,” Rose suggested. “It’s possible you might want to put _another_ edge on, even.”

“Why are you going on about edges, dude?” Dave popped the packet into the rehydrator (not actually a microwave. John found this out when he tried to make popcorn and ended up with mushy corn on the cob. He cried about it for quite awhile.)

“We’re thinking about visiting team Alpha,” Jade said nonchalantly, stirring the batter. “Do you want to come?” She glanced at Rose out the corner of eye, communicating the message that she was ready to tackle Dave he had a meltdown.

Dave nodded. “I guess, yeah. Why do y’all think I was gonna get worked up over it?”

Rose shrugged. “Everybody has a tendency to get worked up over family. John, Jade, even _you._ ”

“Don’t forget yourself,” Jade said. “You had one of the worst freak outs.”

“Excuse you, but I actually had a pretty minor breakdown in comparison to my other breakdowns.”

Jade rolled her eyes. “Yes, because logging out of pesterchum and yelling at the top of your lungs was ‘pretty minor’.” She pour the batter into the pan, and stuck it in the oven.

“I guess we don’t need the brownies, then,” Rose said, changing the subject. If she started another feelings talk, she was afraid John would physically manifest and start talking about how sharing their feelings was important to the wellbeing of the team and other touchy-feely stuff like that.

“What are you planning on using then for?” Jade asked suspiciously. “Because I was planning on just eating them.”

“I was going to use them to coerce Dave into joining us to go visit Alpha,” Rose answered.

Jade gasped. “Rose! Don’t tell me my baked goods were going to be used for evil!” She fell dramatically against the refrigerator, saying “Now I know how John feels when his devices of deliciousness are used for nefarious deeds!”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Stop being so dramatic.”

Jade snickered, and pried herself off the refrigerator. “Anyways, I’ll set-up the hangout with Alpha. As Rose managed to convince me of, I’m sure that they’ll want to see us. I’ll also tell Grandpa about it, just to get his blessing.”

“I like the sound of that!” Rose said.

* * *

 The next day, after Jade had set everything up the night before, they began their trek through the forest.

“Do you guys think they’ll be happy to see us?” John asked.

Jade shrugged. “Probably! They seemed excited when I talked to them.”

“And if not, then it’s their loss, because we’re pretty damn awesome,” Rose added.

They walked a bit more, talking about their family, and what they felt they should know about the other. Rose periodically checked her map on her phone to see how much longer they would have to walk.

“It’d be so much _faster_ if I just teleported ahead,” Jade whined.

John scoffed. “And let you get the first peek? No thanks. We’re all in this together.”

Jade groaned loudly, and teleported a few feet infront of him just to tick him off.

They reached their destination with only a little more arguing. A few large redwoods stood in the spot that the sister mansion was supposed to be in. If Rose looked carefully at the trees, she could see a thin line of static that trailed down the mass of it, like it was some kind of recording or hologram.

“I don’t see anything,” John said, squinting. “Where’s the base supposed to be?”

“It’s right here!” Jade rolled her eyes. “You don’t see anything because of the privacy bubble they’ve got up. You think Grandpa and Grandma are gonna leave the Alpha mansion in the middle of the woods all exposed?”

John choked. “A _privacy_ bubble? You’re saying they’re using a privacy bubble? But I thought those weren’t possible for years!”

Jade sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “John, _please_.”

“Can we go inside?” Dave asked. “Or are we gonna be vaporized by some futuristic security system, because lemme just say, letting all these good looks go to waste is a crime against humanity.”

Jade hummed in thought. “I think we can, unless they’ve activated the security defenses. _Then_ we’ll get vaporized.”

“Really?"

“No.”

Jade prattled off a few more facts about the privacy bubble while Rose stuck her hand where Jade had said the bubble probably ended. It was solid enough to where she met some resistance, but it was still easy to put her hand inside. Her hand disappeared up to where it ended, and she waved her arm around a little. It felt a bit weird, as it was kinda tingly, and it felt like the privacy bubble was vibrating, trying to seal the hole that Rose was making. It was a bit disconcerting looking at was nothing, and she pulled it out.

“I guess there’s no point in waiting outside?” John said, unsure of himself. “Better make ourselves known.”

He approached the bubble, and tapped on it experimentally. “Hello? Are you there Alpha? It’s us, Beta.”

“Way to go John, introducing us like some kinda band that’s already managed to fumble their first gig and they haven’t played yet,” Dave grumbled. “If you keep going like this, the venue owner’s gonna kick us out for our own good, maybe hand us a twenty if we promise to never come back again.”

John rolled his eyes at him. “Well so- _rry_! I was just trying to introduce us-”

He didn’t finish, as he was rudely interrupted by a hand that had emerged from the bubble. It grabbed his wrist and pulled him inside with little resistance.

The next to go was Jade, and before Rose could fully get a grip as to what was going on, she was snatched inside as well. She could see that someone had made a grab for Dave, but he had already took off running before it could reach him.

She emerged on the other side in slight disorientation. Someone braced her before she fell, and she uttered some form of a thank you before taking a look around wherever the hell she was.

The inside wasn’t vastly different from the outside, the only major difference was the sister mansion standing a little ways away from where she stood. It was slightly smaller than her own log cabin-mansion, but what it lacked in size it made up for in style and many, many windows. It was more of a contemporary mansion, and Rose had a feeling that if the Harley’s had a say in designing this one, it was more Julie than Jacob.

“I’m guessing you like it?” the person holding her asked.

Rose nodded. “It looks much better than a log cabin, let me assure you.”

They snickered. “Hey, the log cabin one is nice! But like, only on the inside though, and once you get rid of the ugly-ass decorations.”

“Oh, they were the _first_ to go.” Rose stood up straighter, and the person let go of their steadying arms around her. “I’m not sure as to where they went, but honestly good riddance. I believe the eyes that followed you everywhere was the least of my worries in that house.”

They extended their hand out of her, and Rose took it, shaking firmly.

“Hiya there, I’m Roxy! Been expecting you for quite awhile now!”

  
  
_Pink, bright eyes stare down at her, full of laughter and mirth._

“Sorry for suddenly dragging you in like that,” Roxy said. “Jane’s idea of a prank, but I can’t say I didn’t help her come up with it.”

Rose shrugged. “That’s John’s cousin, correct?”

Roxy nodded. “I think so! And I’m your sister….?” She had a questioning look on her face, like she didn’t fully believe it herself.

“Yes,” Rose replied. “We’re definitely going to need to talk about that.”

“Oh _hells_ yeah we do!” Roxy said. “But not now, because now is the time where we worry about cooler things, like talking to each other, getting the hot and spicy deets about each other that we couldn’t say for like, 18 years.” 

“Hot and spicy deets?”

Roxy nodded, walking towards where mostly everyone was congregating. “All the cool and awesome details about yourself! I mean, I wanna know everything about you, but in a nice and non-stalkerish way of course.”

Rose breathed a sigh of mock relief. “Good, because I was beginning to worry I was going to have to call campus security.”

“Phew, that was a close one!” Roxy winked at her.

There was the green flash of Jade teleporting in and out of the bubble. She came back with Dave, and unceremoniously dumped him on the forest floor.

Someone who Rose didn’t know clapped his hands together. He looked a bit like Dave, and considering she already knew Jake, she was pretty sure he was Dirk. “Great, the gang's all here.”

John’s assumed cousin, Jane, stepped up beside him. “We should start with introductions! I’m Jane.”

They went in around in a circle, introducing each other until everybody went.

“So, we’re definitely going to have to talk about a lot of serious shit,” Dirk said. 

“Pfft. Let’s skip the boring stuff and get on to the part where we kick ass and take names,” Roxy said. “Rose and I are gonna kick English’s ass down the drain singlehandedly.”

“It can’t be singlehandedly if you’re both doing it together,” Jake pointed out. 

Roxy rolled her eyes and waved him off.

“I agree with Roxy though!” Jade said. “I mean, not the singehanded thing, but to just enjoy each other’s company before jumping into business.”

Dirk groaned loudly. “ _Fine._  But if we get attacked by the Felt, don’t come to me complaining about how we should’ve talked about shit.”

Jane patted him on the back. “Don’t worry Dirk, nobody’s going to be come whining to you because you’ll be too busy whining to me.” 

Dirk scoffed.

* * *

“So, this is the base!” Roxy said, gesturing to everywhere once they inside. “It’s pretty cool I think.”

“It feels like it,” Rose said. “It’s certainly much better than the…. _rustic_ ….charm of the sister base.”

The living room was very nice, and very modern, but not cold and futuristic. It was a very open space. Bookshelves were built in the wall facing a window that made up an entirety of a wall, letting in most of the light and making a nice view. Armchairs and two-person sofas of various colors littered the floor. A large spiral staircase fit neatly in the corner, leading upstairs.

Jake waved at them from upstairs, leaning dangerously over the banister. Jade joined him.

“Hey Rose!” she yelled, waving enthusiastically. “Isn’t this fun!”

Rose nodded. “It’s certainly exciting.”

Jake elbowed Jade, and whispered something in her ear, pointing to Rose. Jade snickered and called down to Rose, saying “Jake says you haven’t changed a bit. Or, in his own words, ‘that bird hasn’t changed her tune since the day she was born!’”

Jake rolled his eyes. “I never said that! However, you’re still the same Rose, which is a good thing, or I fear I wouldn’t be able to pick you out in a lineup.”

They disappeared into the hallway next to them, laughing over some ridiculous thing Jade had said. Rose was glad that Jake was still on good terms with his sister, and that none of Jade’s fears had come to fruition 

“I seriously wonder who taught him how to speak,” Roxy said. “I honestly expected Jade to talk exactly like him.”

Rose gave her a weird look. “Really?”

Roxy nodded. “You wouldn’t believe how _shook_ I was when she opened her mouth and normal people words came out.”

“I suppose!” Rose said. “I guess I’m used to Jake’s lingo since I’ve been around him for such a long time.”

Roxy agreed with her. “I’ve been talking with him online since I was 13. Raina bounced all over the place, and since Jake was Harley and my mom with the Harley’s program, it just kinda clicked together,” she said. “I’m more used to his euphemisms than I was back then, but I do seriously think that Jake’s grandpa picked the short stick when it came to teaching the grandkids how to speak.”

“Or their mother,” Rose added. “Jade told me that her mother used to speak exactly like Jake does.”

Roxy shrugged. “There’s some weird things going on in that family.”

She showed her the rest of the house, giving Rose what she called the Ultra Diamond VIP Tour that Not Beyonce Or Even Obama Gets. It was nice being with Roxy. It was almost as if they’ve been friends for a very long time even though they’ve only known each other for a little while. Roxy’s tendency to crack jokes and make light of most situations was pretty funny, even if she did randomly insert acronyms and other internet lingo in her sentences. 

Rose hoped that they could make up for lost time, and Roxy seemed excited about the prospect of having a sister. She’d already hinted that she knew that she had a sister for a couple of years, but she didn’t know who it was. Rose felt guilty about only knowing about Roxy for a few weeks, but it wasn’t necessarily her own fault. Just information held from her, willingly or unwillingly.

“And that’s that!” Roxy said, finishing the house tour. “I can smell Dirk’s casserole cooking, so we should probably head down.”

She stepped closer to Rose whispering “Although he doesn’t want anybody to know what he cooks, so Jane’s gonna take the credit for it.” She winked at Rose conspiratorially. “Don’t tell him I told you.”

“I’ll keep it under lock and key.”

Dinner went smoothly as one could expect. Jane did take credit for Dirk’s casserole. There was only a little bit of bickering, mostly from Dave and Dirk, but Jade and Jake went at it a bit.

“Jane, you’re gonna have to make more of whatever that was,” John said afterwards. “I honestly wish we had leftovers.”

“It was a chicken noodle soup casserole,” Dirk said. “Just saying.”

Roxy gave Rose a look from across the room. Rse smiled slightly, covering her mouth with her hand to hide her smile. 

“You all should like, spend the night,” Roxy suggested, hanging upside down from a sofa in the living room. “Just chill, watch a movie, maybe play a board game.”

“Nah, it’s getting late,” John said. “We gotta head back before it’s get too dark to even see. The forest at night is straight up spooky. Blair Witch Project anyone?”

Roxy scoffed. “It’s not like y’all are gonna try and find the paranormal. At least, not without _me._ ”

“I trust maybe ¼ of my group to not try and convince me to find cryptids in the woods at night and that fourth is me.”

Roxy rolled her eyes, and slid off the couch and onto the floor. “Just saying. And besides, you said it was dark outside. Are you _really_ gonna try to walk at night?”

Jane poked her head around the corner. “John, are you really trying to leave? Because if you do, I’ll have no choice but to track you down and drag you back here.”

John huffed. “Jane, I need you to stop exerting your weird, motherly nature on me.” Rose elbowed him promptly for stealing her line. She should copyright it or something.

Jane glared at him. “It’s far from motherly and you know it. Now sit your rear down and watch a goshdanged movie! Stop trying to skip out on bonding time!”

“Damn John, you really made her angry,” Dave said, plopping himself on the couch on the other end of the living room.

John shrugged, joining him on the other end. 

They watched a pretty cheesy movie, and by the end of it, Jane had convinced John that they _absolutely_ needed to stay the night as it’s _much_ too dark outside now and really you should’ve left earlier but it’s fine just sleep in the guest room.

Ushering him out the living room, she winked back at Roxy before leaving herself.

Rose gave her a look. “What was that all about?”

“I asked Jane to make sure y’all spent the night for more family bonding or whatever the fuck she called it,” Roxy answered. “I was _super_ looking forward to this.”

“Devious." 

“It’s what I do best!” Roxy hopped off the couch. “Now, to escort you to your guest room.” She offered a hand to Rose. “Or my room, who cares.”

“I want to at least see your room,” Rose said. “I want to get a taste of what my supposed sister is into, and you didn’t show it on your Ultra Diamond tour.”

Roxy chuckled. “I have a surprise I wanted to show you!” She led Rose upstairs to a bright pink door. Opening it widely,she let Rose take it all in. “Voila!”

 

The only thing Rose’s brain could gather was that Roxy really, _really_ liked wizards.

 

“Well?” Roxy asked, flouncing on her bed. “What do you think?”

Rose swallowed down enough of her shock to croak out a coherent answer. “It’s very nice.” She joined Roxy on the bed, carefully sitting down. “Very wizardy.”

“You think?” Roxy questioned. “I thought it was a little understated.”

“Uh, th-the body pillow might be an indicator of your interest,” Rose said. It was almost like she was thrown back into her mother’s mansion. She looked around, wondering how Roxy managed to find all this magical paraphernalia. Perhaps she and her mother shopped at the same store, or it was merely a coincidence that Renee’s love of wizards was passed down to her daughter, but Rose had trouble comprehending _anything._

She glanced at Roxy, who was bent over and shaking silently. Carefully, she put a hand on her back. “Are you alright?”

Roxy nodded, and sat up straight.

 

Red in the face, laughing her ass off.

 

“Oh _Rose_ , you should’ve seen your face!” she cried once she could talk, wiping a tear from her eye. “I wish I could’ve taken a picture of it, ‘because it was _priceless_!”

Rose grimaced. Dragging a hand down her face, she asked slowly “You did this to see my reaction?”

Roxy nodded. “Your reaction right _now_ is still golden.” She pulled a box from under her bed, and began to take down the decorations. “I mean, can you believe I’d do my room like this? And oh, ha! You should’ve seen _Dirk_ when he walked in! He shot out of here like a bullet!”

Rose appreciated the level of commitment Roxy put into this. Thinking about it now, it was pretty damn funny. A burble of laughter escaped from her, and Roxy glanced at her, and smiled.

“I’m glad you enjoyed my joke,” she said. “I was worried you would’ve hated me afterwards.”

Rose got up off the bed and helped Roxy take down the posters. “I wouldn’t hate somebody for putting this level of work into a practical joke,” she replied.

“It wasn’t _all_ me,” Roxy said. “Jane helped me come up with it, and gave me the website she uses for cosplay. It’s how I found all this wizard shit!”

Having finally taken down the posters and wizard statues, Roxy striped her bed of the Harry Potter sheets and tossed them into the box. Lastly, she held the body pillow up.

“Time to go away Ignacious the Magnificent,” she said, placing him carefully into the box. She kicked it back under her bed.

“I’m gonna go grab my regular blankets from the linen closet,” Roxy said. “Want me to show you to a guest room?”

Rose nodded, and Roxy brought her to a fairly nondescript room, with (thankfully) nothing too drastic inside, as Rose wasn’t sure how much more she could take tonight.

  
She fell in the bed, and slept, dreams and new visions peppering her subconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how did roxy get ahold of that wizard body pillow. _how_
> 
> what if the guest room was also covered in wizard shit? some kinda double prank lmao. im not gonna do that to rose, at least for today.
> 
> also hey hey family!!! finally!! ive been waiting awhile for this chapter lol. 
> 
> dont worry about things being super lowkey because im gonna kick it up a notch next chapter. probably.
> 
> oh and hey, tags were updated!! woot woot! okay so i really don't know how to tag so im just straight up hoping for the best at this point


	16. shut up karkat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Should Beta and Alpha really have had the raddest of hangs together? Find out more at 8.
> 
> aka ANOTHER FUCKIN PESTERLOG

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just cant stop can i? a quick thing for 6/12

\--carcinoGenticist [CG] opened chat and added apocolypseArisen [AA], adiosToreador [AT], twinArmageddons [TA], arsenicCatnip [AC], grimAuxiliatrix [GA], galllowsCalibrator [GC], arachnidsGrip [AG], centaursTesticle [CT], termniallyCapricious [TC], caligulasAquariam [CA], and cuttlefishCuller [CC]!--

CG: SO

CG: WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO TALK ABOUT ALPHA AND BETA.

TC: mOtHeRfUcKiN wHo

TC: ArE wE tAlKiNg AbOuT tHe AlPhAbEt????

CG: FUCK NO.

CG: ARE YOU HIGH RIGHT NOW?

TC: oNlY oN LiFe :o)

CG: *SIGH*

CG: ANYWAYS, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THEM, AND DISCUSS THEIR RECENT ACTIONS.  MY SOURCES SAY THAT THEY’VE RECENTLY MERGED TOGETHER, OR AT LEAST THEY’VE STARTED TALKING, THUS BREAKING THE WHOLE NOT-RULE “DON’T SPEAK TO OTHER TEAMS LIKE EVER”.

GC: K4RK4T 1SNT TH4T YOUR NOT-RUL3?

GC: 4LSO C4N YOU STOP LOOK1NG THROUGH MY VISION JOURN4L 4ND CLA1M1NG 1T 4S 4 SOURC3? PR3TTY CR33PY 1F YOU 4SK M3, 3V3N THOUGH YOU OBV1OUSLY D1DNT

CG: IT’S NOT MY FAULT THAT YOU LEAVE IT LAYING AROUND EVERYWHERE. I THOUGHT IT WAS A REGULAR NOTEBOOK AT FIRST AND IT WAS SO JUICY I *HAD* TO KEEP READING.

CG: AND YEAH, IT IS MY NOT-RULE BUT I THINK IT’S PRETTY DAMN RUDE THAT ALPHA DIDN’T INFORM BETA ABOUT IT AT ALL.

AG: Well, may8e they didn’t care a8out your stupid rule.

AG: 8ut, I’d 8et they’d listen to me, considering I’m virtually 8etter than you in every aspect, and have a certain gr8ce that even Kanaya wishes she could achieve.

GA: Hey Now 

AG: No offense, Kan!!!!!!!! ::::)

GA: None Theoretically Taken

GA: I Suppose I Already Beat You Out In Every Other Field Of Grace That Could Possibly Exist

CG: VRISKA, DESPITE YOUR FUCKING TENDENCY TO TRY AND USURP ME FROM MY VERY POWERFUL AND VERY ENVIABLE POSITION OF POWER, YOU HAVE A POINT.

CG: ALPHA CAN’T LISTEN TO MY SUPERIOR VOICE OF REASON, SO WE’LL NEED TO SEND IN THE BIG GUNS, WHO'LL FORCE OTHERS TO LISTEN TO THEM EVEN IF LISTENING TO THEM IS THE WORST IDEA EVER CREATED. 

CG: SO VRISKA, YOU'RE UP.

AG: Th8nks for your weird, 8ackwards compliment Karkles! Super appreciate it ;;;;)

CA: hey can you guys like

CA: shut ya damn claptraps?

CA: gettin my beauty sleep is hard enough wwithout my phone buzzin evvery damn second an im not tryna throww it across the room like a fuckin harpoon

TA: how many hour2 of 2leep could you po22ibly need two fix your ugly a22 face

CA: about 12 hours so fuck back off to wwherevver kinda hole you clawwed your wway outta 

CA: wwhy do you ask anywways

TA: well…..

TA: you 2hould 2hoot for 24

** calguliasAquariam [CA] left chat! **

AG: Ooh, burn! Daaaaaaaamn Sollux!!!!!!!!

CG: DAMMIT SOLLUX!!!

CG: WE NEEDED HIM SO HE WOULDN’T BE FUCK-ALL UN-INFORMED ABOUT OUR PLANS.

TA: eriidan could care le22 about whatever the fuck thii2 i2 and 2o could ii and we all know iit

TA: be2iide2 fef can iinform the both of us cuz iim out two

TA: peace

** twinArmageddons [TA] left chat! **

AG: They’re dropping like flies. Hilarious!

CG: FUCK OFF VRISKA.

CG: IS THERE ANYONE ELSE WHO WANTS TO LEAVE? THIS IS YOUR *ONLY* OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO, BECAUSE IF YOU TRY TO LEAVE AT A LATER POINT IN TIME I WILL FIND YOU AND I WILL KICK YOUR ASS THOROUGHLY DOWN THE DRAIN.

AT: uHH,,,

AT: i GUESS i’LL TAKE MY LEAVE,,,,BECAUSE THIS IS GETTING SLIGHTLY ANTAGONISTIC AND i DON’T REALLY WANT TO BE NEXT,,,OR HAVE MY ASS KICKED DOWN THE PROVERBIAL DRAIN,,,,,,,,,,,

** adiosToreador [AT] left chat! **

CG: ANY-FUCKING-ONE ELSE?

GC: K4RK4T WH3N YOU PUT 1T L1K3 TH4T L1T3R4LLY 3V3RYON3 W1LL W4NT TO L34V3

CG: MAYBE I WANT THEM TO LEAVE.

CG: EVER THINK ABOUT THAT? HMM???

GC: JUST S4Y1NG >:/

AC: :33< *ac lowers her head in sorrow but not really* sorry karkitty but i finally convinced equius to listen to my sona's backstory!!! and thats more impurrtant than whatever kinda mess is going on.

CT: D --> This will not make you feel better, and I do not intend it to.

CT: D --> But compared to this tomf001ery of a "chat", Nepeta's sona sounds infinitely more interesting. Thus, I'll be taking my leave from you h001igans.

** arsenicCatnip [AC] left chat! **

** centaursTesticle [CT] left chat! **

CG: SO NOW THAT EVERYBODY HAS DECIDED WHETHER OR NOT THEY WANT TO TAKE THEIR LEAVE LIKE THE PANSIES THEY ARE, WE’RE GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS.

CG: WE’RE GOING TO HASSLE ALPHA, AND TRY TO DISCOURAGE THEM FROM FRATERNIZING WITH BETA.  I MEAN, WE’RE ALL AWARE OF WHAT HAPPENED WHEN BEFORUS STARTED TALKING TO US RIGHT?

CG: TOTAL. FELT. SMACKDOWN.

CG: THEY’RE LUCKY THEY’RE STILL ALIVE.

AG: Can we like,  _ not _ gloss over the fact that the Felt also managed to 8rainwash one of the 8eforians into trying to kill them all? 8ecause that was really important too, y’know.

CG: DOES THAT REALLY MATTER? THE POINT IS THE FELT MANAGED TO BREAK THROUGH THEIR SEEMINGLY ~IMPERMEABLE~ BRAIN WALLS OR WHATEVER THE FUCK THEY CALLED THEM. THEY COULD’VE HURT US IF WE DIDN’T BREAK OFF CONTACT.

CG: WHO KNOWS HOW SQUISHY THE MINDS OF ALPHA AND BETA ARE? WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY’RE CAPABLE OF? AT LEAST ONE MEMBER HAS MANAGED TO GO GRIMDARK *MULTIPLE* TIMES.

CG: DO YOU REALLY WANT A GRIMDARK ON OUR ASS? OR THEIR ASS? ALL OF OUR ASSES?

GC: W3 G3T 1T. STOP T4LK1NG 4BOUT 4SS3S 4LR34DY

GC: WH4T 1F W3 JUST D1SCUSS3D TH3 R4M1F1C4T1ONS OF WH4T TH3Y JUST D1D *W1TH* TH3M? TH3Y’D B3 4BL3 TO COM3 TO TH31R OWN CONCLUS1ONS 4BOUT WHY TH1S 1S SUCH 4 STUP1D 1D34 4PP4R3NTLY

CG: AND IF THEY DON’T?

AG: 8rainwash them, duh.

AG: It’d 8e easy peasy! 

GA: Okay I Have Kept Silent But Up To A Point And You All Have Managed To Reach That Point In Record Time And Probably Even Surpassed It

GA: We Cannot Simply Brainwash Them Nor Can We Try And Convince Them Of The Allegedly Stupid Decision They Made.  They Can And Most Certainly Will Be Able To Take Care Of Themselves As Very Clearly Shown When Harley Labs Was Attacked And During The Incident In The Carapacian Mountains A Few Years Back

GA: Surely We Dont Need To Keep Squabbling Like A Couple Of Dumbasses

GC: TH4NK YOU K4N4Y4 FOR PUTT1NG 1T 1NTO WORDS

GA: I Do My Best

GC: SH3 H4S 4 F4NT4ST1C PO1NT.  TH3Y C4N T4K3 C4R3 OF TH3MS3LV3S 4ND 1F 1T DO3S COM3 DOWN TO TH3 TOUGH SH1T, TH3N TH3Y C4N M4K3 TH3 H4RD D3C1S1ONS

GC: OR 4T L34ST 4LPH4 C4N 4S W3V3 4LL S33N 1N TH3 C4R4P4C3 MOUNT41NS

AG: You’re all 8eing spoilsports! I mean, yeah you guys have a point, but I want to t8ke some action!!! I haven’t used the good ol’ 8rainwasher in forever!

GA: That Is A Good Thing Even If For Some Absurd Reason You Cannot See It

AG: Pfft. I’m just saying. 

CG: FINE KANAYA. WE WILL BE PASSERBY WHILE ALPHA AND BETA MANAGE TO DESTROY THEMSELVES SO COMPLETELY AND THROUGHLY THAT THERE'S NOTHING LEFT OF THEM. HOW CONSIDERATE. 

CG: LOOK AT ME, WATCHING AS ALL THIS POOR DECISION MAKING PASSES ME UP. WHAT A TRULY FASCINATING SCENE. CAN’T WAIT TO STAND STILL SOME MORE.

GA: Thats All I Ask

CG: FUCK YOU.

** carcinoGenticist [CG] closed chat! **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *coughs* i accidently focused on the quadrio (karkat, vriska, terezi and kanaya) a lot and im sorry
> 
> writing quirks was really difficult for some reason lmao. i even had to ~look it up~. it was a magical experience and i learned much. 
> 
> also some ~mysterious things~ thrown in there. such as "what the fuck is the carapacian mountain incident" and "what the fuck happened between alternia and beforus" and "why am i still writing". so many theorectical questions, so little time.


	17. mission probably possible

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Missions are great and all, but not when they end in horrible, horrible failure.
> 
> Hopefully, that won't happen!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S OVER 9000!!!! 
> 
> okay shitty old memes aside, this chapter is 10k words, making it the longest chapter ive written!!!! crazy! hopefully, that makes up for my month of inactivity. i definitely have another chapter that's almost done lined up, so maybe we can get back on a normal update schedule before school starts back up, hm?

**\-- timaeusTestified [TT] opened chat and added tipsyGnostalgic [TG], gutsyGumshoe [GG], golgohasTerror [GT], ectoBiologist [EB], tentacleTherapist [TT], turntechGodhead [TG] and gardenGnostic [GG] at 17:58!--**

TT: Okay, time to get down to business. Since nobody wanted to talk about it yet, I’ve decided to take care of it myself.

TT: Or moreso, I wanted to beat Jane to the punch.

GG:  I’m glad your motives are so transparent! Of course you would find it useful to open a memo once I’ve finally made up my own mind to take the bull by the horns.

TT: It’s the least I could do. 

TT: Down to business, we need to train together sometime soon. Even though the older Harley’s have pretty much made clear that yeah, we’re not going to be doing anything for a while, it’s still important to keep ourselves in shape.

TG: yeah but dirk

TG: no need to bring us down in ur quest to be swole af

TT: I’m not trying to get swole. I’m trying to keep us prepared. There’s a difference.

TG: no i think i kno what ur doing

TG: ur tryna make us all health nuts

TG: makin us worry about how many eggs we’re eating n how much we can lift in one set

TG: dont worry dirk i can lift plenty ;)

TT: I don’t care about how much you can lift. I’m really just trying to keep us on a good schedule so the Felt doesn’t beat our asses so thoroughly into the ground we’ve managed to come out the other side of the world.

TT: “What’s up China, didn’t mean to bother you there, we just accidently popped up out the ground after our major asskicking. Please, don’t let us interrupt your dinner.”

TT: Okay, you want to keep us in shape, I understand, but what’s this about our sudden inactivity?

TT: Is there some bit of news that just didn’t manage to make it past the steel jaw of confidentiality? Please, if you could spare some tidbit of news to please the masses, it’d be most appreciated.

TT: Jane, I’ll let you take that.

GG: Wow, gee, thanks Dirk! *sarcasm sarcasm sarcasm*

GG: Anyways, the Harley’s informed us about a few weeks ago that we’re not doing much of anything soon. After the attack on Harley Labs, everything came to a standstill!

GG: Right now, we’re lying in wait for the Felt to move.

GG: It’d be dramatic if we were in a movie, but it’s actually rather boring, in all honesty.

TT: Yeah, it’s pretty fucking dull around here. I’ll snag us a reconnaissance mission or something. Anything to shake it up.

GT: Actually do you mind if i do that instead?

GT: I havent talked to the old man in quite awhile and i want to catch up!

TT: Yeah man, sure. You do you.

TT:  _ Meanwhile, _ while Jake grabs a mission, we need to be able to find a groove with each other, because I don’t want to everybody to be tripping each other up in the middle of an op.

TT: But what if I want to trip others up?

TT: Certainly that can be arranged. My leg itches at the prospect of possibly causing another's literal downfall.

TT: We are not doing that. Ever. 

TG: but what if its my dying wish to trip somebody up

TG: what are you gonna do about that huh?

TG: yeah DIRK

TG: ur gonna deny some junior their miracle wish?????

TT: If it’s as dumb as trying to trip somebody, then I will wholeheartedly deny that psychotic little 8 year old their wish. Pick something normal buddy.

TT: Since I have a feeling that y’all are gonna sidetrack the conversation further, someone needs to pick a time. 

TT: I honestly don’t care if it’s 2:30 in the fucking morning tomorrow, let’s just keep the train going. 

TG: lets do it at 2 in the morning tomorrow

TT: Okay, maybe I do care.

GG: Dirk, you spoilsport! Sidetracked conversations are the best conversations. Think of the loads of fun we’ve had when we skirted our conversational duties!

TT: I beg to differ.

EB: what about two days from now, at like the morning or something

EB: i mean we just had a training session, so we’re not gonna have another in a little while

TG: psh if you could even call that a session

TG: i think harleys running out of ideas

TG: “today well” throws dart “find the flag” pulls paper from hat “in a dark as fuck cave” spins wheel “while i try to kill you”

EB: that’s oddly specific but yeah it does feel like he’s losing his groove

TG: dave u threw off jacobs groove!!

TT: You’ll have to be forcefully escorted from the premises. Possibly by being thrown out a window, it depends.

TT: OKAY SO TWO DAYS FROM NOW GOT IT.

** timaeusTestified [TT] closed chat! **

** \--gutsyGumshoe [GG] opened chat!-- **

GG: *whispering* Spoil sport!

** \--gutsyGumshoe [GG] closed chat!-- **

 

If one thing should be known about the two teams Beta and Alpha, it is that nothing ever happens on schedule.

Training was not two days from then, it was two _weeks_. Neytiri was finally installed inside the Beta mansion. That wouldn’t have been such a problem, only Neytiri’s personality core also caused her to schedule training sessions everyday. Beta, having become used training sessions every couple of days, had to deal with getting back on track after a few weeks of leisure. Surprisingly difficult, which was to nobody’s surprise.

The night that they did manage to finally train is best explained in one word: Chaotic.

While Beta was being trained into more and more lethal situations, their training session was like “Weenie Hut Junior versus Most Dangerous Game” (very apt description by Dave). Alpha was used to very harrowing, high stakes training sessions such as stabbing with Very Pointy Objects and shooting with Very Real Bullets.

 

Conversely, Beta was still using rubber swords.

 

Rose wondered if Alpha regretted bringing in Beta, considering they’d have to slow down their own training to catch Beta up to speed. However, they didn’t seem to mind, and the Harley’s didn’t have any objections about it either. If Rose was correct, it was almost like they were _waiting_ for the day when they could kick things up a notch.

On one of their off days, they hung out in the Alpha mansion, playing a variety of games. Someone suggested Uno, but that was immediately shut down by the basis of “we like the house too much to let it be destroyed in a strife caused by Uno.” A very logical basis, even if Rose was the one who suggested herself.

“Roxy, no, you cannot just _make_ another hotel,” Jane huffed. “That’s not how the game works.”

Roxy scoffed. “Psh, that’s how _plebs_ play. This is Super Lightning Monopoly, Jane, and I’m here to _win!”_

“I understand that, but we have enough hotels already!” Jane cried. “I mean, you’ve _literally_ created more than we need! A surplus! I bet the housing market is down the toilet!”

Roxy cracked her fingers, another hotel manifesting in her hands. “Can’t be worse than the housing market in real life.”

Jane narrowed her eyes. “Alright, you have a point.”

“Boom! Headshot!” Jake cried a little farther away, throwing his controller up in the air. “In your face, Jade!”

Jade pressed a few buttons on her controller, and threw it at him smugly. “How about in _your_ face, Jake? I just bombed your  _entire_ air base!”

Dirk kicked the door in, interrupting all gameplay. All eyes turned to him, watching him swipe calmly on the tablet he held.

“Guys, the Harley’s came through on Jake’s mission request,” he said, waving the tablet nonchalantly, as if he hadn’t almost bust the door off of it’s hinges. “They just sent the files to us now.”

Jane sighed in relief. “Oh thank _goodness_. I was itching to fork somebody!” Roxy’s eyes widened, and she inched away slightly. Jane patted her, saying “Of course, not you darling.”

“So what kind is it?” Jake asked, putting his remote on the tv stand. “Recon, rescue? Maybe attack?”

“It’s recon,” Dirk confirmed. “Level one, since it’s Beta’s first mission.”

“What does ‘level one’ mean?” Jade asked, puzzled. “Are we talking about video games? Virtual reality?” She brightened, and asked excitedly “Ooh, are we doing a virtual reality mission!?”

“Aw man, I _wish_ ,” Roxy said, pouting. She put down her stack of money, and hopped over the back of a chair, landing in the seat in one smooth motion. “No, level one just means that it’s gonna be a super easy mission, and low priority, so we shouldn’t worry if we accidently fuck up.”

“There’s about 4 levels,” Dirk explained. “The fourth being the hardest and the first being the easiest.”

“So we got a mission for  _babies?”_ John asked.

Jane nodded cheerfully. “In essence, yes! Don’t worry John, I’m sure if you do well, they’ll give us a harder mission next time.” She stood from her crouched position, and took a seat on a sofa. Jade joined her, and Jake took the arm chair next to them, propping his feet on the coffee table.

Dirk took a seat on the back of the room. Snapping his fingers, he said “Hal, keypad.”

A holographic keypad shimmered into view in front of him, along with a “ _You could’ve said that nicer, asswipe._ ”

“Uh, what the fuck was that?” Dave asked, looking around suspiciously. “Did somebody say something?”

“It was _Hal_ , _”_ Roxy said with the utmost disgust, glowering at Dirk. “He thought it’d be _nice_ if he programmed the AI with a personality chip he created when he was 13, but he can’t figure out how to get rid of it.”

“Oh really?” Jade said in surprise. “We just programed ours with Neytiri!”

“ _Must be nice,”_ Roxy growled, staring daggers at Dirk.

Dirk rolled his eyes. “You guys are just exaggerating. Hal isn’t _that_ bad.” He plugged the tablet into the keyboard, and began typing rapidly. “He only starts acting up when you guys talk shit about him.”

Jane scoffed. “But we’re _always_ talking shit about him.”

“Exactly.”

While Dirk was tapping away, the living room began to change slightly. The numerous armchairs and sofa’s began to slowly rearrange themselves into a large semi circle, all facing a the window that took up the entirety of the wall. The lights and windows dimmed. On the window-wall, a blueprint of a ship flickered to life.

“Whoa,” John whispered in awe behind Rose. “Why aren’t we living here again?”

“Because Alpha was relocated to this one first,” Jade whispered back. “Damn you, Alpha….”

Dirk brought up the mission outlines. “Okay, so this looks pretty basic. Container ship owned by the Felt, rumored to have Derse technology on it, yet nothing has been reported stolen by the kingdom of Derse.”

“So an in-and-out?” Jane asked. “Snatch the manifest, look for the goods, and boogie on out?”

Dirk nodded. “Looks like it so far. The Harley’s already assigned teams.”

He turned around to face Beta and said “Usually, the Harley’s give us mission parameters, but it’s pretty open to us decide what we do. However, since this is you all first mission, they did most of the heavy lifting for us.”

Tapping the enter key, he brought up a diagram with less than flattering sprites of everybody. The sprites split into five groups, some in pairs and others single. Starting on the far right, Jade and Dirk were labelled “retrieval.” Roxy and Dave were by themselves, with Roxy being labelled “security details” and Dave “rotation”. Jane, Jake, Rose and John were all closely put together, but still split into pairs. It was hard to decide exactly who was who, but Rose was pretty sure she was paired with John (or was it Jake? Whoever put the sprite together should’ve been _much_ more discerning). They were all labeled “damage control”.

Jade raised her hand. “Does retrieval mean we’re gonna be searching for the stolen technology?”

“Yep!” Jane answered. “I believe that the Harley’s think that the technology might’ve been spread out on the ship, so with your teleportation, and Dirk’s Dirk-iness, you both make a great match!”

Dirk sighed. “Can you please not refer to my talents as ‘Dirkiness’? I just have regular, normal people skills.”

Roxy scoffed. “Oh yeah, like building a radio outta tinfoil and glue is something everyone can do. Hey, can you pass the popsicle stick, I’m about to make some kinda life-saving device now.”

Jake patted him on the back. “Oh, cheer up! You’re essentially a real-life version of Batman!”

“Sure, whatever,” Dirk muttered. “Any other questions?”

“Yeah, can someone explain what rotation means?” Dave asked.  

“You’re going to be bouncing between retrieval and security,” Dirk informed him. “Just extra insurance, making sure that Roxy or Jade and I aren’t dead if we go radio silent.”

“Okay, but what if I die?” Dave asked.

Dirk shrugged. “Then we’re screwed I guess.”

“Don’t be like that,” Jane huffed. “I can bring him back to life, easy as pie. After all, I’ve had to do it after you managed to lose your-”

“Okay, let’s not go there!” Dirk interrupted quickly. “We’re moving on!”

“Wait, but what if Jane dies?” John asked.

“That would never happen,” Roxy said, dead serious. “I would _die_ before that happens.”

Jane winced. “Please don’t.”

“I vote we all die and make everybody’s job easier,” Rose suggested. “Does that sound good?”

“No, it sounds horrible!” Jane objected, horrified. “How about nobody dies and we all live instead? Good? Good.”

“Anyways,” she continued. “You all have roles to play. Each one is crucial to the success of the mission.”

Dirk nodded in agreement. “Just because it’s a level one doesn’t mean we can slack,” he said. “Think of this as an audition, and if you do well, then you’ll get harder missions.”

“If it helps, I believe you all will do great!” Jake added. “The Harley’s are very forgiving when it comes to mucking up a mission, and their expectations aren’t too high. Not like that’s a bad thing, because you guys will blow them right out the water!”

Jade shoved him lightly. “You big ol’ sap,” she teased. “If you keep going, you’re gonna end up make someone cry.”

“On that positive note, I vote we adjourn!” Jane declared, standing to leave.

“Wait, we can’t go! I’ve got team names!” Roxy cried. Pointing to Dave, she said “You’re Team One Is The Loneliest Number.”

Giving finger guns to Jade and Dirk, she said “Y’all are Team Shoot First, Ask Questions Later.”

“And you all,” Roxy said, swiveling to face Jane, Jake, John and Rose, “are Team Putting The Door Back On.”

“What about yourself?” Jade reminded her. “You have to have a team name too!”

“I was just getting to that,” Roxy said, winking. “I’m Team Geek Squad.”

John furrowed his brows. “What the hell does putting the door back on mean?”

“Well, since you’re damage control, I thought that since kicking the door in stands for you wrecking everyone's shit, putting the door back on would mean you’re _not_ wrecking shit, at least not yet,” Roxy explained.

“That still doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

Roxy huffed. “Listen, I workshop a lot of these, not all of them can be perfect.”

“Just ignore John,” Dave said. “For all that matters, I think they’re bomb as fuck.”

“Thank you Dave,” Roxy said. Giving John a smug smile, she said “At least _someone_ appreciates my talents.”

John rolled his eyes.

“I forgot to ask, but when’s go time?” Jake asked. “Soon, I hope?”

Dirk scrolled. “Looks like a few days from now.”

Jake fistpumped, and raised a hand to fistbump Jane. “You ready to blow some poor soul to bits?”

Jane bumped it. “I was _born_ ready.”

* * *

On go day, Rose woke early. She had very few visions about the mission going horribly wrong, most of which was avoidable, of which she was thankful for. She shuffled down to the kitchen. Dave was already there at the bar, staring at the wall while slowly munching on a salad.

“Dave, I thought you didn’t like salad,” she remarked once she popped a food packet in the rehydrator.

Dave nodded, crunching on a green leaf. “Yeah, I hate it. It’s fucking disgusting.”

“Then would you care to elaborate as to why you’re eating it _now?”_

“I honestly have no fuckin’ clue,” Dave answered. “I grabbed the wrong packet and thought that damn, I could be adventurous today, y’know? So I popped it in and hoped for the best.”

The rehydrator beeped, and Rose pulled out whatever it was she stuck in there. The smell of fries floated through the air, slightly salty and definitely tantalizing. Dave didn’t seem to notice, instead spearing another leaf of lettuce.

“So did the best happen?” Rose asked, sitting down next to him. “Did your adventurous spirit reward you?”

Dave sighed. “Being straight up with you, as soon as the stink of kale hit my nose, I knew I was done for. I kept going though, maybe because I wanted to prove myself wrong, maybe just really didn’t feel like making something else, I don’t know.”

He turned towards Rose, putting a hand on her shoulder. “I was _dead_ wrong. Salad is still the most morally reprehensible mistake a person could make. If I could go back in time far enough to stop some vegan caveman from throwing together some nasty-ass leaves because he forgot that the family get together was today, and calling that pile of dead lettuce a salad, I would.”

Rose blinked, and slowly pushed her plate of fries towards him, switching it out for the salad. “I believe you should have these instead.”

Dave sighed in relief. “ _Thank you.”_

“No problem, “ Rose said, going to dump the immoral bowl of green leaves into the trashcan. “Is there any reason as to why you didn’t just stop yourself in the first place? I mean, if you hated it that much, wouldn’t you want to spare your past self?”

“Past me needed to remember the truth,” Dave said. “Plus, even if I went back, Past Dave probably would’ve been like ‘fuck you, I do what I want’ and eaten the salad anyways. It’s a cycle.”

Rose grabbed another mysterious food packet, only briefly checking it wasn’t a salad, and put it into the rehydrator. “Is there anything else to know about your aspect? Anything I should know about?”

Dave shook his head. “Nah. Shit’s hella boring when you get down in it. I bet it decided to be an accountant when it grew up, crunchin’ numbers and adding it all up. Shit might come home one day and find that shit’s wife decided to leave because he was so damn boring and he probably wouldn’t even mind.”

“What about the paradoxes?” Rose asked. “Those have always been interesting.”

“Those are just a headache waiting to happen,” Dave said. “I actually had to read up on all the different type of paradoxes just keep up with all of them. I didn’t think I’d be doing _homework_ just so I wouldn’t die.”

Rose opened her mouth to respond, but she was interrupted by John opening the door, yelling at the top of his lungs.

“Are you all ready to _rock!”_ he shouted, smacking the mixer off the counter. Realizing his mistake, he recovered it quickly, placing it back gently.

“Sorry. I might’ve been swept up in the moment,” he said.

Dave shrugged. “At least you caught it. I don’t know what I would’ve done if it went.”

John rolled his eyes. “Yeah, okay whatever.” He snagged a fry off Rose’s plate. “I guess you guys already know that I’m pumped as hell for this mission.”

“Even though it’s for, as you so eloquently stated, ‘babies’?” Rose asked, raising an eyebrow amusedly.

“Yes, even if it’s for babies,” John answered drily. “Even then, it’ll only be a while, and then we’ll be doing level fours. It’ll be like an action movie, like Die Hard or Armageddon-”

Dave groaned, shoving fries into his mouth. “Do _not_ start with Armageddon. Die Hard is fine, but the moment you start talking about Armageddon, I will travel back in time myself and kill Bruce Willis myself.”

“Just like the asteroid?” Rose asked.

“Faster than the asteroid.”

“It _wasn’t_ the asteroid that killed him,” John said, annoyed. “It was the bomb that killed him, and he gave his life heroically to save the Earth-”

“That is _it_ , I’m killing him, effective immediately,” Dave said, slamming his hands on the counter. Shoving the rest of Rose’s fries into his mouth, he disappeared in a red flash.

John sighed. “He’ll come back.” He slid open to top of the refrigerator, rummaging around. “He usually does, anyways.”

Rose tossed her plate in the sink (she was only slightly annoyed that _someone_ ate all her fries). “Well, while he’s gone, you can divulge your Armageddon fantasies all you want.”

John poked his head out, unamused. “I feel like you’re making of fun of me.”

Rose scoffed. “ _Me?_ Make fun of _you?_ Puh-lease.”

“Remember the ghost kink?”

“I’m sorry, I don’t speak english.”

“Rose, that _was_ english.”

“Désolé, je ne parle pas anglais.”

John came out the refrigerator, wielding eggs. Grabbing a skillet from the cabinet, he said “I don’t have any of these so-called ‘fantasies’ about Armageddon, but I do have a few headcanons for Die Hard, if you wanna hear them.”

Rose propped her head on her fist. “Enlighten me.”

“Well,” John began, cracking an egg on the skillet. “If we were in Die Hard, then Dave would _definitely_ be McClane.”

“Why is that?” Rose asked, very seriously and not at all teasingly.

John shrugged. “I mean, Dave is pretty badass. Like, _you_ guys might not think that because you’ve only seen the soft side of him, but Dave can get down when it’s time.” He gestured for the salt.

“You seem to think highly of him,” Rose commented, passing him the salt shaker.

“Yeah, I do,” John said. “He’s an ass at times, but he’s awesome.”

Rose’s mouth quirked upwards in a smile at John’s praise of Dave. Calling him an ass and awesome in the same breath, and knowing that Dave would do the same made their friendship interesting to watch.

Thinking of, there was another flash as Dave reappeared, this time with a bottle of Sprite. “Okay, I forgot what we were talking about, but I did manage to snag this sweet bottle of coke. Catch me up to speed.”

“You went back in time to kill Bruce Willis for being in Armageddon,” John reminded him helpfully, flipping his omelet.

“Oh yeah that.” Dave took a swig of his Sprite and said “I didn’t feel like it.”

“So he lives?” John asked.

“For now.”

The rest of the day was mostly lazy. Even though today was training day, Neytiri didn’t schedule anything because of their upcoming mission, of which everybody was thankful for (today was leg day. Who wants to do _leg_ day?). Instead, they watched television, got too swept up in it, and divided themselves into factions based on who they thought the protagonist should end up with. Sadly, despite all visions, Rose was on the losing side.

Around 5, there was a loud honking sound.

Jade peered out the window. “Wonder what that could be-wHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!”

They rushed outside, trying to figure what exactly the fuck was going on. A large camper tore through the forest, headlights flashing and loudly honking. Swerving wildly, it turned right before it smashed into the mansion, nearly tipping. It screeched to a stop, slightly smoking, but surprisingly intact.

Slowly, Jane rolled down the window, saluting. “Hello there!”  

* * *

“So, we wanna get there around 1 am, and the drive is about 5 hours down to the San Fran port, so we thought we’d leave around 7,” Dirk said, rubbing his hands together. “Sound good?”

They sat in the living room, rather awkwardly. The scene of a camper flying through the forestry was still fresh in their minds. Roxy and Jake still looked slightly green. Many questions hung in the air, but Rose was pretty sure they’d be better off left unanswered.

Dave nodded ever so slightly, running a hand through his hair bewilderedly. “At this point, _anything_ sounds good.”

Jade snapped out of her shocked reverie, and shook her head. “Actually, no, it doesn’t sound good at all!” she cried. “Why are we bringing a camper? I mean, it’s a _camper._  It’s not inconspicuous at all!”

“That’s the point!” Jane said. “So conspicuous, it’s inconspicuous. The line of thought is slightly confusing, but we’ve taken this bad boy on more than few missions and made it out, so who knows!”

Jade sighed. “Who knows indeed,” she muttered.

Rose smirked. “I would’ve thought that _you_ of all people would’ve liked the car line.”

“Rose, I think you know my stance on the car line well enough,” Jade replied drily. “This is probably gonna sound super duper morbid, but as soon as Grandma and Grandpa die, I’m getting rid of it effective immediately.”

“We are _not_ getting rid of the line,” Jake stated. “It’s going to be a hit, I’m sure of it.”

“Jake, as the future slightly senior co-CEO, we’re cutting it.”

“You’re only slightly senior co-CEO because I was ten and thought it was boring,” Jake replied.

“Whatever,” Jade said, standing to leave. “I’m still slightly senior co-CEO, so what I say mostly goes.” With a flip of her hair, she walked out.

Jake groaned, rubbing his forehead exasperatedly.

After they suited up, they piled into the van parked outside. The camper looked mostly normal on the inside, but Rose had her doubts that this was just an _ordinary_ van. If it was built by Harley Labs, then she was fairly certain that it had a few extra features than most. She already could see the large panel of buttons glowing in the front seat, all begging to pressed. There were chambers in the back corner of the van, but she had a feeling that they weren't just bathrooms.

Jade took a seat on one of benches lining the walls. “You don’t think Jane’s gonna drive us to the port, do you?” she asked, slightly nervous.

“Nope!” Roxy replied cheerfully, hopping in the front seat. “Cuz I called dibs, and there is _no_ arguing with the power of dibs.”

Roxy put the van into gear, and they started forward slowly. It would be awhile before they’d reach the port, and Rose settled in for the long, 5 and a half hour drive. Someone put on a movie, and they talked with each other to pass the time.

Rose’s phone began to buzz, and she checked her messages.

** \--gallowsCalibrator [GC] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] at 00:54!-- **

GC: OK4Y H3R3S TH3 DR1LL

GC: 1M BR34K1NG 4N 1MPORT4NT NOT-RUL3 OF N3V3R COMMUN1C4T1NG W1TH OTH3R GROUPS L1K3 3V3R SO 1M PROB4BLY GONN4 G3T IN 4 *LOT* OF TROUBL3

GC: YOUR3 ON YOUR W4Y TO DO SOM3TH1NG R34LLY DUMB WH1CH W1LL 4LSO G3T 4LL OF US 1N 4 LOT OF TROUBL3

GC: SO TO PR3V3NT 4LL OF US DY1NG 1N 3XCRUC14T1NGLY P41NFUL W4YS 1 C4M3 4LL TH1S W4Y TO S4Y TH1S: DONT

GC: STOP DO1NG TH3 STUP1D SH1T YOUR3 4BOUT TO DO

GC: B3C4US3 1TLL FUCK UP 4 WHOL3 LOTT4 TH1NGS TH4T YOU DO *NOT* W4NT FUCK3D UP

TT: You talk a lot.

GC: YOU W3R3NT T4LK1NG. WH4T W4S 1 SUPPOS3D TO DO? JUST W41T FOR YOU TO R3SPOND? 1V3 GOT 1MPORT4NT TH1NGS TO DO YKNOW

TT: What would you have done if I didn’t respond? Just sign off and hope I read this?

GC: 4CTU4LLY 1 WOULD K3PT T4LK1NG. YOUR3 NOT 4T YOUR D3ST1N4T1ON Y3T 4ND TH3 BUZZ1NG OF YOUR PHON3 WOULDV3 B33N TOO D3L1C1OUS FOR YOU TO R3S1ST >:]

TT: Damn. You’re good.

GC: GOOD 4ND 4RM3D W1TH 4N 4RS3N4L OF FUTUR3 KNOWL3DG3

GC: 4G41N, 1N C4S3 YOUV3 D1SR3G4RD3D TH3 P4ST ST4T3M3NTS: KNOCK 1T TH3 FUCK OFF

TT: Rest assured, I read everything. I just can’t stop doing the dumb shit that you apparently know I’m about to do, because I’m on my way to do something so universally regarded as a really bad move in general that it might as well be done by somebody.

TT: And that somebody is me.

GC: Y34H 1 H4D 4 F33L1NG TH4T YOU WOULDNT STOP R3G4RDL3SS OF WH4T 1 S41D

TT: Can’t stop, won’t stop.

GC: JUST W4NT3D TO L3T YOU KNOW, S33R TO S33R

GC: 1M GONN4 S1GN OFF S1NC3 OUR MOST NOBL3 L34D3R 1S CLOS3 TO F1ND1NG M3

TT: Uh? Care to explain?

TT: Are you  _ hiding _ right now?

GC: Y3P! 

TT: Well, how close is he? He’s got to be close if you can hear him.

GC: N4H. H3S JUST R34LLY R34LLY LOUD

TT: Well, considering he’s not close, is it alright if I ask a few questions? Seer-to-seer, of course.

GC: D4MM1T

GC: 1 H4D 4 F33L1NG TH4T 1D B3 WR4NGL3D 1NTO 4 QN4 S3SS1ON

GC: Y34H GO FOR 1T 1 GU3SS >:[

TT: Glad to see you’re so willing. ;)

TT: You’re from Alternia, correct? Considering that you mentioned breaking your vow of silence, and Alternia is the only group that hasn’t extended an olive branch, it’s the only logical answer.

GC: YOU 4LR34DY 4NSW3R3D YOUR QU3ST1ON YOURS3LF, WH4T DO YOU N33D M3 FOR? 

TT: I doubt I have all the information. 

TT: And I doubt that you’re not deliberately withholding information from me either. 

TT: So, spill. Share with me all of your delicious secrets.

GC: >:///

GC: F1N3

GC: 4LT3RN14 T3CHN1C4LLY TH3 ONLY YOUTH S3CT1ON B3SID3S YOU 4ND 4LPH4. TH3R3S B3FORUS 4ND TH3 4NC3STORS AS W3LL

GC: B3FORUS 1S R3L4T3D TO US L1K3 4LPH4 1S R3L4T3D TO YOU, BUT NOT QU1T3. MOR3 L1K3 OLD3R COUS1NS

GC: 4ND TH3 4NC3STOR S3CT 1S PR3TTY MUCH 3V3RYBODY OV3R 25.

TT: See? Already you prove to be a useful informant. 

GC: >:////////////

TT: Anyways, why the typing quirk? Am I to assume that the Harley’s pesterchum servers aren’t secure?

GC: OH NO TH3 S3RV3RS 4R3 V3RY S3CUR3

GC: OUR MOST WIS3 4ND WOND3RFUL L34D3R JUST DO3SNT TH1NK SO, 4ND 1NS1ST3D TH4T W3 US3 TH3S3 QU1RKS SO TH4T 1F TH3 F3LTS W3B CR4WL3RS M4N4G3D TO F1ND US 1N ON3 OF TH3 M1LL1ONS OF S3RV3RS TH4T W3R3 BOUGHT 4ND D3S1GN3D SO TH4T NOBODY WOULD F1ND US 1N TH3 F1RST PL4C3, TH3 W3B CR4WL3RS WOULDNT B3 4BL3 TO D3COD3 WH4T W3R3 S4Y1NG

TT: You act as if you don’t agree with their methods.

GC: B3L13V3 M3, 1 DONT. 1 TH1NK TH3YR3 DUMB 4S FUCK, BUT 1 C4N D3F1N1T3LY S33 4N 1NF3S1ISM4L POSS1B1L1TY OF WH4T H3 F34RS COM31NG TO L1F3, SO TH3 QU1RK ST4YS

GC: 1TS K1ND4 L1K3 S3COND N4TUR3. 1 4LMOST DONT KNOW HOW TO WR1T3 NORM4LLY 4NYMOR3

TT: Sucks to be you.

GC: D4MN STR41GHT

GC: 1 GU3SS TH3 ONLY TH1NG TH4T 1RKS M3 4BOUT TH3 WHOL3 ST1TCH 1S TH4T OUR M4GN1MON1US L34D3R US3S C4PSLOCK 4S H1S “QU1RK”

TT: Pft. Don’t disparage their choices. They most have a reason.

GC: MMMMM H3 H4S 4 R34SON

GC: H3S LOUD SO H1S WORDS 4R3 LOUD. 3V3RYTH1NG 4BOUT H1M 1S LOUD. 1TS 4NNOY1NG

TT: Steal his caps key. Teach him a lesson or two. 

GC: H4! 1V3 TR13D 4ND F41L3D M4NY M4NY T1M3S

GC: H3 H4S L1K3 4N 1NSURMOUNT4BL3 NUMB3R OF TH3M H1DD3N

TT: Damn. Foiled already. You can clearly see that I wasn’t meant to become an evil mastermind. 

GC: 1 C4NT S33 4T 4LL

TT: Well.

TT: I’m aware of that now. I suppose you can clearly sense I wasn’t meant to become an evil mastermind instead.

TT: Anyways, I need to sign off, as we’ve reached our super secret target that nobody must ever know about or Dirk’ll blow a gasket. Wish me luck!

GC: NOTH1NG BUT TH3 LUCK13ST >:]

** \--tentacleTherapist [TT] logged off!-- **

They pulled into the entrance of the port, and rolled to a stop behind a large crate. The smell of the sea already permeated Rose’s nose, of which she scrunched in disgust. The sea was nice and all, but it smelled, and sadly there was nothing to change it. Unless Rose wanted to dump a large vat of perfume into the ocean, but she didn’t want to deal with the ecological fallout that she would’ve left in her wake. Maybe if she was an older senator who could get away with it.

 

Vote Rose Lalonde, 2040. She’ll make the ocean smell nice.

 

“Alright everybody, time to move,” Jane said, reaching over Roxy and pulling the keys out of ignition. “Everybody knows what they’re doing, correct?”

John nodded. “Find the secret cargo, get the secret intel, and kick ass. You don’t have to worry about us.”

“Of course,” Jane said. “While kicking ass wasn’t on the menu, it doesn’t mean you can’t have it for dessert!”

Roxy pulled out her laptop, and began typing. “I’m bringing down the security system now, so you guys can go when you’re ready."

“Well then,” Jade said, extending her hand towards Dirk ceremoniously. “Are you ready?”

“Always,” he replied, accepting her hand. Turning to Dave, he asked “When’s a good time for you to check in on us?”

Dave shrugged. “Is ten minutes good? It’s not like the Felt know we’re here yet, so Roxy wouldn’t be totally and absolutely fucked if she was left alone for awhile.”

“Hey, I can take care of myself,” Roxy cried, looking up from her screen. “I’ve been by myself before, and nothing’s happened!”

Dave gave her an “ _ehh”_ look, and Roxy slapped him in the arm.

Jade hugged Rose before she left. “I’m so excited!” she squealed. Holding her at arm's length, she said “Now, try not to die tonight, alright?”

Rose nodded. “I’ll do my best. However, if any harm befalls you, I fear I’ll have no choice but to throw myself into the ocean in despair.”

“Alright, alright, I know where you’re going,” Jade replied. “I’ll try to be careful.” She squeezed Rose a final time before letting go and bounding off to Dirk, disappearing in a flash.

The rest of them climbed out the camper, and Roxy leaned out the door to say goodbye.

“Go kick ass!” Roxy said, waving to Rose excitedly. “Make me a proud sister!”

“I will,” Rose answered. Roxy gave her a wide smile, and pulled the door shut. The van shimmered away from view soon after, the anti-detection shield taking place. 

Jane turned to John and Rose. “You two are responsible for one half of the shipyard, making sure it’s clear enough for us to leave immediately,” Jane said. “Do you think you can handle that?”

John nodded. “We can probably take it. If not, we’ll tell you.”

“Good!” Jane said. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear!” She pulled him in for a hug, ruffling his hair. “My little cousin, going out and kicking butt! I’m so proud of you.”

“You’re being _gross_ ,” John gagged, squirming his way out from under Jane. “Save the affection for later on, will you?”

Jane made another grab for him, but he ducked. Laughing, she waved goodbye to him, and left with Jake.

“She’s so _mushy_ ,” John said, disgusted. "How am I supposed to be cool with her around?”

Rose patted his back. “If it’s any consolation, you were never cool to begin with.”

John rolled his eyes. “Thanks, that means a _lot.”_

They took off for their side of the port. It was mostly empty, so keeping it clear probably wouldn’t be a problem. If anything, they’d mostly be patrolling. Rose thought it was odd that the Felt wouldn’t leave this area well protected, but she assumed they were reserving the manpower to guard the Derse technology.

“Hey Rose, do you know like _any_ of these guys names?” John asked.

“I know most of them,” Rose answered. “However, I haven’t really dug down into the Felt folder.”

John nodded. “Believe me, I understand. I haven’t even started reading _any_ of the files Jade sent us.”

They stopped walking, hearing talking that wasn’t their own. John flew up, landing lightly on top of the crate next to them. He flash two fingers at her, and then five, and eleven by flashing ten and a one.

Doze, Fin, and Matchsticks. Great.

Rose summoned a couple of needles, and floated them up to John. He sent them in a spiral of wind down towards them, and the needles shot out, effectively taking out the three Felt.

“Now that’s what I call a Twister!” John said in a mock-country accent. “We have to do that move more often.”

“John please, it’s not called the Twister, it’s called the Hurricane,” Rose corrected him.

John rolled his eyes. “A hurricane is just a water tornado, so basically still a tornado. The name stays.”

“If you’re working by the logic that a hurricane is a water tornado, then wouldn’t a tornado just be a dry hurricane?” Rose countered. “Twister leaves, Hurricane stays.”

“How about we just call it whatever we want,” John suggested. “Twister, hurricane, whatever.”

Rose nodded. “Fine. It’d just be like arguing about soda and pop, even though everybody knows the correct form to refer to carbonated drinks is soda.”

“We are _not_ going there today.” John jumped down, and lightly kicked at the bodies. “What are we supposed to do with it?”

Rose shrugged. “Just leave them, I suppose. By the time they’re discovered, we’ll be long gone.”

John bent, and closed one of the bodies eyes. “Just out of respect,” he explained when Rose gave him an odd look. “They might be mass produced clones, but they’re still kinda people, y’know?”

“I’m sure they’ll appreciate your sentiments,” Rose replied.

John stood, and they left. They continued clearing out their end of the port with relative ease, finding small groups of Felt and wiping them out. If they were close enough to the ocean, John dumped the bodies into the water. Rose noticed that most of these groups consisted of the relatively unimportant Felt, and they didn’t put up much of a fight. In truth, she was getting kind of bored, and the only thing to lighten up the slightly monotonous killing was to keep score with John.

John was slightly jumpy the whole mission. He was still John-esque, still naturally good-humored, still cracking jokes and making dumb puns. It was just that the words “good Lord is that a _bomb!”_ was on the verge of becoming his catchphrase. Rose had long given up telling him that no, there’s relatively low chance of them finding a bomb, and even then, would it _really_ look like that?

Eventually, there was a crackle of static as Jade and Dirk radio’d in.

“We’ve gotten most of technology,” Jade informed them. “Most of it was just some brainwashing stuff, nothing special, but we found something pretty interesting!”

“Yeah, there was this humongous fucking crate that had like, two rings inside,” Dirk said.

John gave Rose a look. “Are they like, _big_ rings?” he asked. “Like, Sonic the Hedgehog sized rings?”

“Nope!” Jade said. “Just two regular rings! I’d put them on, but I dunno if I wanna risk dying for fashion. We just put them in our pockets instead.”

“Jade, if you’re not willing to die for fashion, what would be the point of living?” Rose said, slightly smirking.

“Hmm, guess I'm gonna die!” Jade said cheerfully. In a more serious tone of voice, she said  “Anyways, Roxy we just found the last crate, can you tell us what’s inside?"

“Sure!” Roxy chirped, the distinct sound of cracking knuckles in the background. “Looking up contents in the databases now.”

There was silence, and Roxy sucked in a breath.

“Uh, you wanted crate 10-25 A, right?”

“No?” Jade said. “I wanted 10-25 B.”

Roxy sighed in disappointment. “Damn. I had a feeling.”

Rose raised an eyebrow slowly. “Roxy, what is it?”

“To be real, I don’t really know,” Roxy replied. “I found some blueprints with the Harley Labs watermark, but the writing’s in Alternian, and I’m not a translator.”

“Huh. I guess we’ll just open it and found out!” Jade chirped. There was a creaking of metal, and a soft “uh-oh.”

“What’s ‘uh-oh’?” John asked, worried. “Did something happen? Are you guys dead? Was there a  _bomb?"_

“We tripped an alarm,” Jade answered. “We opened it up and bam! There was like a hundred Felt guys on us. We got some pics, and I managed to get the two of us out, but if they didn’t know we were here before, they do now.”

Jane sighed. “Then I suppose a retreat is in order. Rose, John, how’s the west end doing?”

“All clear,” John said, kicking a hopefully lifeless body.

Suddenly, Rose's aspect spiked. She stepped behind a crate, pulling John down with her. “We should redact the ‘all clear’ status,” she whispered into the comms. “My aspect's spiking, and _not_ in a good way. ”

“Oh geez,” Jake said, worried. “Take a moment to figure yourself out then, hmm? I don’t want to risk messing up while we’re so far ahead.”

John started shaking urgently Rose. “Look!”

Rose opened her eyes in irritation. “What do you want? I’m trying to make sure we don’t die!”

“Do you think I don’t know that! Just look!” He pointed to the body next to them even more forcefully. It shimmered, slightly translucent, and soon it fell from view, like it was never there in the first place.

John and Rose shared a worried look.

“Uh Dave?” John said slowly.

“What’s up?”

“Some dude just…. _disappeared,”_ John said. “Is that okay?”

“What do you mean he just disappeared?” Dave asked. “Like, hid behind something or just straight up vanished?”

“Straight up vanished.”

Dave groaned. “They’re probably fucking with the timeline. Going back in time and grabbing extra manpower. Fucking _dumbasses,_ all of them.”

“So, what do we do Rose?” John asked. “What’d you see?”

“We have two choices,” Rose offered. “If we stay and fight them off, the chance that one of use dies or gets hurt sky rockets.”

“What about running?”

“All the visions about running are murky,” Rose said, biting her lip nervously. “I don’t have confirmation we’ll be totally safe doing that either.”

Jane sucked in a breath. “Are the chances of running better than the chances of staying?”

Rose nodded. “I believe so.”

“Then we retreat,” Jane decided. “Everybody, hoof it back to the van. Roxy, get it started. I want to be rolling as soon as everybody’s inside.”

“Yes ma’am!” Roxy said. The line went silent.

“Do you think we can fly over?” John asked.

“You can, but I’m not going with you,” Rose answered. “If I went, I’d slow you down and make you an easy target, which is the last thing I want to do.”

John waved her off. “I’m sure I can handle them with you on my back.”

Rose shook her head. “No, you can’t. Just go without me, I’ll be right behind.”

John gave her a worried look. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I can take care of myself,” Rose replied. She huffed, saying “You’re being mushy just like _Jane_ is.”

“Ew, gross, I’m nothing like Jane,” he said, cracking a smile. Waving goodbye, he rocketed off. Rose watched him until he was just a speck in the distance. Summoning two needles, she followed behind, making her way through the ship.

The van, if Rose estimated correctly, was 100 yards away. All she had to do was sneak around for 100 yards and she'd be home free. She can do this.

She heard a voice, and rolled a few feet away, ducking behind the body of a crane. A shadow passed over her, and stopped. She held her breath, not wanting to give herself away.

After an eternity, the shadow kept moving, and she slowly released her breath. Quickly, she dived out the hiding space. The person who the shadow belonged to had his back turned, still walking. Rose was pretty sure she had already killed him, but what the hell, she’ll do it again.

Carefully, she aimed her needle.

“Hey you!” a voice yelled behind her. “What’re you doin’ here!”

The guy she had set her sights on turned around, looking for the source of the sound. He saw Rose, and snarling, he cocked the nasty looking gun he held.

“Hey guys, we got one!” he yelled to the side of him. Rose heard footfalls as what seemed like millions of Felt converged on her position, each barking orders at one another.

 

_Oh shit._

 

Quickly, Rose threw the needle, aiming for the head. Not sticking around to find out if she managed to hit him, she booked it in the other direction before the Felt turned the corner.

Bullets started to fly. While the suit was bullet resistant, it wasn’t bullet _proof_ , and Rose didn’t want to find out what it’s limit was. She slid around a corner to get cover from the barrage, still running. A small group of Felt was in front of her, having already heard the gunfire.

Before they could react to Rose’s sudden appearance, she had already activated her suit's ability to produce blinding amounts of light (thankfully, her visor was tinted). As she ran through the group, she stuck her hands out to the side and quickly summoned her needles, cutting any and everybody near her.

She turned another corner. Diving into an open crate, she quickly shut the doors, hiding. Breathing heavily, she listened to the sounds of feet passing her up, still thinking that she ran somewhere else. She caught her breath, and consulted her aspect for the best escape route. After her brief soiree with her aspect, she opened the crate doors. Looking around, she didn’t see anybody, and she quietly stepped out. She started jogging lightly, trying to make it back to camper. Strangely, she didn’t see anybody other Felt, and she hoped that they had seen the crowd that pursued her and followed them. But, she had a feeling that wasn’t the case.

She was about 10 yards away from the camper when she stopped dead in her tracks. A huge swarm of Felt surrounded the area the camper was in. Hiding behind a container, she lifted her head slightly, and began counting. Soon enough, Rose was well over a hundred, and there were still more coming.

 

Damn.

 

Something flashing caught her eye, and looking up, she noticed something waving in the distance. Narrowing her eyes, she saw that it was Jane’s trident.

“Rose?” Jane whispered into the comms. "Can you see me?”

Rose nodded. “Yes.”

“Good!” Jane said cheerfully. “I didn’t want to make myself too obvious, considering our surroundings.”

“Are we cut off?” Rose asked.

Jane groaned. “Unfortunately, yes. However, do take comfort that we’re the last two out, and that they haven’t found the van quite yet! I’ve already told the other’s to stay inside, lest they give away the van’s hiding place!”

“Still it’s odd how they’re circled around,” Rose said. “It’s almost like they have an idea where the camper is, but can’t seem to find it.”

“I suggest we point it out them then!” Jane said. “Just follow my lead!”

Rose peeked around the ship container, watching as Jane leapt on top of the crate she hid behind. Grinning wildly, she put a hand on her hip, yelling “Up here, suckers!” With a battle cry, she jumped into the middle of the Felt, and began slashing left and right.

Rose cracked her fingers. Summoning several needles, she directed them towards the back of the crowd. Slowly, she and Jane edged closer and closer to each other, until they were very nearly back to back.

There was a soft whooshing sound. Rose barely had enough time as it was to determine what it was before something pierced the skin in her neck.

She yanked out whatever it was, and inspected it. It was a small tranquilizer dart, but she didn’t experience any dizziness or sleepiness. Perhaps it was just something to shake her up?

Rose noticed that Jane pulled a dart out her neck as well, and stabbed it into the eye of the closest person near her.

“What just happened?” Rose asked.

“Just a tranq, dear,” Jane answered. “Everybody got hit with one, so I suppose I should’ve warned you ahead of time. We need to keep moving towards the camper, and I’ll look at us later. There's no adverse effects, so take comfort in that!”

They kept fighting, slashing and stabbing and forking anybody who dared to get close to them. They made progress towards the camper, but for every two steps they took, they took one back.

“This isn’t working,” Rose said, slightly frustrated. “My aspect’s already running numbers, but I don’t have any ideas at the moment. I don’t suppose you have tricks up your sleeves, do you?”

“Actually,” Jane said, cheerfully mysterious. “I do. Roxy and Dave, assume battle positions!”

There was the whirring of machinery. Slowly, two turrets rose from the back of the van, Dave and Roxy at the helm.

“Woohoo!” Roxy cried, already firing. “Get ready to have your shit _rekt!”_

Between the barrage of bullets, and Jane and Rose’s combined fighting styles, they finally began to make a path towards the van. Eventually, they dropped everything in favor of flat-out running towards the camper, occasionally taking out anybody in their way. The turrets lowered back into the van.

They made it to the van, very narrowly dodging bullets flying past them. Dirk threw the camper door open, and Rose hopped in. She barely had time to sit on the bench before the van lurched backward.

“Wait, who’s driving?” Rose asked.

“Jane is!” Roxy answered, stepping out from the chambers in the back of the camper. “Strap yourselves in, because we’re going on a _bumpy_ ride!”

 

The van shot forward.

 

There was hollering from the front seat as Jane ran over the Felt.  Rose could see in the rearview mirror that Jane had the glint in her eyes that she knew exactly what she was doing, and was enjoying every minute of it. The ride was indeed bumpy, most likely because of the bodies that Jane passed over. She moved the wheel expertly, very clearly in her element. Rose suddenly knew what Alpha was talking about when they took this van on more than a few missions and made it out.

Rapidly, they came up to the entrance. Someone very frantically tried to lower the gate, but Jane just narrowed her eyes and gunned the gas., busting through the thick wood like it was a stick.

She continued driving erratically down the road, until they were a few hundred feet away from the shipyard. Slowly, Jane rolled the van to a stop, and leaned back in her seat, smiling contentedly.

There were groans as those who didn’t have time to buckle in slowly peeled themselves off the floor, and those who did buckle themselves in gradually let go of their death-grip on the seats. Everybody sighed a sigh of extreme relief, glad they were alive.

“So, that went pretty well, yeah?” Roxy asked, breathing heavily.

John nodded. “Yeah, I didn’t expect it to be that easy-”

Something loud and obnoxious, say for example, a large bomb detonating, cut him off. The shock wave shook the van, almost tipping it over.

They looked around at each other in brief confusion, before scrambling to the back window, trying to get a good view of what happened. However, most of the light show had already ended, and wisps of black smoke floated into the sky. The only tell-tale sign the ship had been there was the few bits of debris scattered on the port.

“I guess you could say that was _bomb as fuck,"_  Roxy whispered quietly.

John looked at her, then looked back out the window. Slowly, he raised his hand for a high five, which Roxy reciprocated.

Dave removed his glasses, cleaning them. “Guess you could say it was _lit,”_ he said casually.

“I guess we didn’t expect it to _blow up_ in our faces like that!”

“Well, at least we didn’t _bomb_ the mission.”

“I gotta say, I had a _blast.”_

“Are we really ignoring that the ship we were on just blew up?”

There was a silence and a quiet “There’s no reason to _explode_.”

There was loud groaning and laughing.

“I’m pretty sure that’s a sign telling us to leave,” Dirk said, pulling the camper into gear, and driving away.  The shipyard fell from view, and they pulled away from the window slowly, one by one. They settled into the benches in the camper.

“Are the Felt gonna follow us?” John asked, nervously fidgeting. “I mean, they saw our car. They probably know the plates.”

“The camper doesn’t have plates,” Dirk answered.

“So why haven’t the police pulled us over?”

“I really don’t know.”

They sat and talked quietly for the rest of the drive home. Rose was exhausted, but she didn’t exactly want to sleep quite yet. Sleep was for the dead, and she had plans. However, some did fall asleep, most likely rocked by the low vibrations of the car. Jade’s head rested on Jake’s shoulder, while his head rested on her head.

“I gotta take a picture of this,” Dave whispered, taking his phone out. “Shit’s hella cute, like I might just even make it my background.”

“Man, leave them alone,” John said. “They’re _sleeping_.”

Dave shook his head, already snapping a picture. “Too late. The deed is done.”

Rose peered over his shoulder to look. “Send me a copy.”

“Already done.”

“Thank you. Also, Jade is going to kill you when she wakes up. You’ve managed to take her bad side.”

Dave scoffed. “I can handle myself. And believe me, neither of them have a bad side. I don’t know how we ended up being a team of ass-kicking supermodels, but here we are.”

“It’s a curse,” Roxy said, not looking up from her phone.

“And a blessing!” Jane added cheerfully. “The Felt being distracted by my beauty leaves them open to attack, and I certainly won’t complain about it!”

They pulled into the driveway of the Alpha base. Dirk pulled the keys out of the ignition, but didn’t get out just yet. “I’ll send a status update to the Harley’s tonight, and a report tomorrow.”

“I’ll give you the camera rolls and the data,” Roxy said. “And help, if you want.”

“Thanks for the data, no to the help,” Dirk replied. “I’ve got it.”

“Alrighty,” Roxy said, opening the camper door. She jumped out, and shuffled to the mansion. Most of the group followed her out, not unlike a herd of zombies. The sun had been rising for awhile, and it made the forest look gorgeous, which might've just gotten on Rose's nerves a tad.

Inside, Jane pulled John into the kitchen. “I’m healing you first,” she said. To Rose, she asked “He didn’t do anything knuckle-headed, did he?”

Rose shook her head. “He was _very_ well behaved.”

John scowled at her as Jane dragged him to the kitchen. Dirk pulled something out a drawer, and followed behind.

Jade put her hands on her hips. “Now what?”

Roxy flopped on a couch, propping her feet up on the arm. “Now we wait. Jane’s officially in doctor mode, so we’ll be chillin’ out here for a while.”

Jake put on a movie, and they sat quietly, one of them occasionally being pulled into the kitchen by Jane and Dirk. Finally Rose was pulled in, propped up on the table. Jane put her hands on Rose, and closing her eyes, she hummed quietly, her hands glowing.

“What are you doing?” Rose asked curiously.

“Just doing a brief check of the body!” Jane said. “I’m making sure that the dart that hit you didn’t contain in nasty viruses or the like.” She opened her eyes and brushed her hands off. “You’re all good though! You had the beginnings of a cold coming in, but I managed to heal that for you.”

“Thanks. I’ve been feeling rather sniffly lately.” Rose hopped off the table.

Jane winked. “No problem. I’m gonna pass you off to Dirk, since he wants to make sure that there’s no software lodged in your brain. It’s happened to us more than once.”

Dirk stepped forward, wielding some sort of scan gun. With a quick pass over her, he studied the screen. Rose got behind him, and peeked over his shoulder, trying to read the data on his screen. Her body still looked the same as it did on the fateful day when Jacob Harley revealed she wasn’t entirely human. Brain still too large, wrong organs in the wrong place.

“Well, nothing is lodged in your brain and sending you subversive messages,” he said finally. “Although, I didn’t know you had a metal molar.”

Rose shrugged. “Sixth grade fight.”

“They managed to hit you all the way back there?”

“He didn’t have very good aim. Besides, you should see _his_ teeth.”  

Dirk nodded, not in the least bit perturbed. “Alrighty then. Send Dave in and you can do whatever you want, I guess.”

“Okay,” Rose said. She threw up a peace sign, and walked out the kitchen door. Her body gave into the strain of keeping herself upright after fighting for what felt like hours. She sagged into the couch next to John, who looked how she felt.

“Rough night?” he asked jokingly.

“Like you wouldn’t believe.”

He chuckled, though it was more of an enunciated breath through his nose.

“I didn’t expect it to be that tiring,” John said. “The last time I felt this exhausted was during the Harley Labs attack.”

Rose scoffed. “I doubt anything would top that night. I felt like I could sleep for _years._ ”

John nodded. “Did you know that health experts say that you shouldn’t sit down after running for a long time?”

“What a load of bullshit,” Rose said. “I’ll sit if I damn well please.”

“But you’ll get cramps.”

“I’ll bet I’ve had worse.”

Jade slid down from a chair and onto the floor. “What do you think was in those tranq’s?” she asked, propping her hands behind her head.

John shrugged. “Personally, I think it’s some kinda serum invented to kill us while we’re sleeping.” He yawned, saying “But I’m so tired that I could care less about dying in my sleep.”

“I think it’s mind control devices,” Jake said. “After all, Jade and Dirk found some brainwashing technology, who’s to say they didn’t shrink it down and toss it in our bloodstream?”

Roxy made an “ _ehh_ _”_ sound. “Wouldn’t they have activated it right then though?”

“No, because they want us to turn on each other!” Jake declared. “Trust me, it’s just like in the movies. The bad guys make us all hostile toward each other until eventually we break apart and join their side! It’s the most perfect and diabolical plan!”

John nodded in agreement. “He has a point.”

Jade rolled over onto her stomach, resting her head on her hands. “Rose, what do you think?”

“Who knows,” she said. “We may never find out.”  

* * *

A dark figure crossed his legs. He wasn’t actually that dark, as he was dressed in the typical neon green of the Felt and was actually of pretty pale complexion, but he liked to think of himself as such. The lighting helped his image quite a bit, as the bulb on his desk was blown, but he wouldn’t admit that in front of one of his crew members.

He passed a small bowl of candy towards the goon. “For a job well done, I assume.”

The member, Crowbar, nodded, slowly inching towards the candy dish. He says that the job went pretty smooth, even though the damn kids beat their asses into the ground. He also mentions that they managed to get their hands on some pretty vital information, and should they be worried about that Doc?

The doctor shook his head. “It throws a wrench into our plans, certainly. However, as you said, the job went well. The suppression should start when they wake up the next morning, and they won’t know what hit them.” 

Crowbar nodded in understanding. Standing to leave with his hands firmly in his pockets to keep his goods from falling out, he asks if they got anybody else to be worried about, like how are they gonna deal with the rogue crew that popped up and gave the brats a hand.

There was an imperceptible twitch underneath the doctor's eye. “Rogue crew?”

Crowbar nodded. He says that some goonies that called themselves the Midnight Crew or whatever just popped up outta nowhere and blew the cargo ship up, which was a shame, because he had ordered some mail-order inflatable rafts and was really looking forward to using them.

The doctor sighed, and leaned back in his chair slowly, tiredly propping his hands behind his head and his feet on the desk. “Well,” he said. “I suppose I’ll have to stock up on scotty dogs, hmm?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> doc scratch is only the beginning. 
> 
> i wonder what was in those tranquilizers. after all, there wasn't anything in them, right? i hope not.
> 
> making shitty puns to cope with the fact that the ship you were on blew up is my favorite coping mechanism.
> 
> my favorite headcanon is that jane does _not_ drive well at. all. rules of the road are more like suggestions of the road. how did she get a license? nobody knows.
> 
> and ooh, midnight crew! will there be more appearances? probably not, but stay tuned to find out the most definite answer of no, they will probably never return!
> 
> more action-type stuff next chapter probably maybe.


	18. thrift shop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting a vacation after a ball-busting mission shouldn't be that hard, right?
> 
> Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! im not dead! just really close to it (no i'm not it's just school and tests and AAAAA!)
> 
> anyways! ive been rewriting everything! everything chapter 1-10 is rewritten, though some minor things have been changed in order to affect larger things in the future, so i would suggest a brief re-read! mainly because when i first started this fic i was dumb and didn't actually make a cohesive plot line to reference. but im older and smarter now definitely maybe.
> 
> there's definitely going to be a wait for the next chapter though :/// sorry
> 
> enjoy!

Rose woke with a headache, and an empty stomach. She attributed it to having a generally rough night. Fighting Felt all night didn’t exactly make for relaxing night. She slithered out of bed, her body sore all over. She didn’t actually know how she ended up in a bed, because as soon as she sat down on the couch she stopped remembering things. She was pretty sure that the beforehand stretches worked miracles, because she probably didn't feel as sore as she could've been. That was definitely a good thing probably.

However, she was hungry, and that was what mattered most in the moment.

She opened the door to the kitchen, still bleary eyed, still not processing much because it was ass o’clock in the morning. She opened the kitchen door, nodded to Roxy in the kitchen, and dropped herself in a chair.

“First missions blues?” Roxy asked brightly.

Rose nodded drearily. “How are you so cheerful?”

“I took like, hella vitamins,” Roxy answered. “And drank a lot of water, and a whole bunch of other pre-mission prep. It was basically like preparing for a _really_ intense workout!” She breezed past Rose to the refrigerator, patting her on the back. “Plus, you’ve only been on one mission. I’m sure you’ll get better as you do more.”

She returned to her eggs, smiling brightly while Rose suffered quietly. Maybe it was just her, but Roxy’s undeterred cheerfulness seemed to irk her.

John stumbled down, not exactly wide awake, but not exactly exhausted either. “Morning Roxy,” he greeted, opening the refrigerator. Roxy waved a spatula in greeting.

Rose grabbed a holoscreen that hovered nearby. She opened up the casefile, and scrolled through Dirk’s report. It was very matter-of-fact, although he might’ve been too wordy when it came to describing altercations.

“Yo Rose, do you want anything?” Roxy asked. “I was about to put up the skillet, but I noticed that you’re being kind of a whale over there-”

“A _what.”_

“A whale. Y’know…” Roxy gestured to her stomach. “Whale noises.”

“Ah, gotcha.” Rose nodded in understanding, remembering that the whole reason she was down here was because her stomach had held her sleep hostage. “I was planning on grabbing something a little later.”

Roxy waved her off. “Nah, lemme make you something now. I have a feeling that you’re one of those people who kinda get sucked into things and then die from starvation because they forgot to eat.” She pulled various boxes and canisters from the cupboards, and dumped them all into a bowl.

“Thanks, I guess?” Rose turned back towards the holoscreen. She remembered her rather weird encounter with Alternia’s seer, and decided that a little extra information wouldn’t hurt. She pulled up her file.

  
NAME: PYROPE, TEREZI  
AGE: 18  
D.O.B: 10/7/199X  
TITLE: SEER OF MIND  
SECT.: ALTERNIA  
MISC: VISUALLY IMPAIRED, CIRC. 5/22/08. COMPENSATES WITH ENHANCED SMELL AND ADVANCED INTUITION, ENHANCED WITH ASPECT.

 

  
Besides the blurred photo that accompanied, there wasn’t anything else.

Interesting. She continued scrolling, but was interrupted by Dirk thundering down into the kitchen and shoving the door open.

_“Who sent the report.”_

There was only a brief falter in Roxy’s stirring. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, _you do,”_ Dirk insisted, marching over. “You got up early, pretended to be me and wrote it up, and sent it!”

 _“Psssh,”_ Roxy scoffed, pouring pancake batter into a skillet. “How do you even know that I sent it? What if Jake had sent it, and you’re all up in here blaming _me_ for it?”

“First, you’re up early even though you make it an express point in waking up _after_ twelve,” Dirk pointed out, rolling his eyes and taking the batter bowl Roxy handed to him to dump it into the sink. “Second, considering I got an email thanking me for the report, but that I should ‘try to be less pedantic next time’, I think I have a good idea.”

“I thought the word count was high, but I believed that was just how it was supposed to be,” Rose admitted. Roxy glared at her, like she couldn’t believe that Rose had sold her out without a second thought. Rose shrugged in response.

“It’s _usually_ high,” Roxy replied irritably, flipping the pancake, “because Dirk writes them. But then he and the Harley’s would know if I wrote it how I normally do, which is why I added a few extra words and scenes and shit.”

“Completely irrelevant scenes,” Dirk mumbled. “What would be the point of writing about climbing up a wall? It’s just a _wall.”_

Roxy shrugged. “I thought it was cool.”

“But you didn’t even know I did that!”

“Actually, I did!” Roxy spun on her heel, pointing the spatula at Dirk. “I made sure that I watched you _specifically_ so I’d have something to write about.” She turned back to her pan, dumping the pancake out on a plate. Quickly, she scribbled something in syrup, and gave it to Rose.

“Why does my pancake have a frowny face?” Rose asked, poking at the angry butter nose.

“For ratting me out,” Roxy answered, dropping the skillet in the sink. “Don’t think I forgot.”

“Thank you for snitching, actually,” Dirk said, grabbing the syrup to drizzle a smiling face over the sad face (though really, it just made the pancake look horribly deformed and more syrupy than Rose would’ve liked).

Rose pursed her lips. “You’re welcome, I guess.”

Roxy rolled her eyes, and walked out.

“You guys are fucking weird,” John muttered (Rose had forgotten he was still there). He shoved the rest of his eggs in his mouth, and left as well. 

* * *

“So, what exactly were the plans about?” Roxy asked. "I mean, they had to have been pretty important if the Felt decided they were worth stealing."

Dirk shrugged. “The Harley’s said they didn’t know, but they were gonna get a translator on it immediately. They also said that there wasn’t a branch in Alternia, which makes everything sound fishy.”

Jake shook his head. “There’s never been a branch over there. If Grandpa ever tried to set roots down there, I’m certain the Condesce would come down and blow everything up herself.” He shuddered. “That woman scares me.”

“Ugh, so we’re waiting for the translator to do his translating things?” Roxy whined, flopping on a rug. “That sounds so _boring._ Dave, can’t you throw us in the future so I don’t gotta wait?”

“Sorry dude, but I think future us wouldn’t like us cramping on their style,” Dave answered.

Roxy grabbed a pillow off one of the couches, and groaned into it. Removing the pillow from her face, she said “I don’t think future me would mind me poppin’ in. Matter of fact, I’m pretty sure that she’d be _happy_ to see me, and we’d have some radical motherfuckin’ hangs.”

Dave shook his head. “Still no.”

Jade patted Roxy on the back. “If it helps, I know a little about the blueprints!”

“Ooh, tell!” Roxy said, perking up.

“Well, the logo was a pretty old one,” Jade said. “It hasn’t been in circulation since at least the eighties, but I’m pretty sure it goes back even further than that.”

“So, could it be someone trying to frame Harley Labs?” John asked. “And doing a really bad job of it?”

Jade shook her head. “It wouldn’t be a bad job of trying to frame the labs at all! The cut of the machine was very similar to designs from the era! If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it _was_ from the 80’s!”

“What if it was though?” Dave asked. “Like, who’s to say someone didn’t say ‘hey, this looks pretty neat, let’s fire it up’ and then made it.”

Jade shrugged. “It was probably proven impossible to build, and then trashed.”

“Probably too dangerous as well,” Jake added. “Only a few designs are ever tossed out on the basis of being too dangerous, and this looks like it was one of them.”

Roxy snatched the remote from Dirk, scrolling down to see the rest of the blueprints. “That’s too bad,” she mused. “It was a pretty kick-ass machine, whatever it is.”

Jane grimaced. “I certainly hope that the Felt weren’t intending on building it.”

“I don’t even know if they can!” Jade said. “Aren’t they british or something? They don’t know any Alternian, do they?”

“You know, I’ve always thought they were irish?” John said. “Because of the whole leprechaun thing they got going on.”

“Actually, I don’t think their nationality matters all that much!” Dirk snapped. “After all, they’ve been around for a pretty long time, I’m sure they’ve managed to put away enough time to pick up Alternian.”

“Maybe so, but this wasn’t some run-of-the-mill Alternian,” Roxy pointed out. She snapped her fingers, and a keyboard appeared in front of her.

“I’m still somewhat ticked that you just have to snap your fingers for the keyboard without asking,” Jake said irritably.

Roxy smirked, tapping on the keyboard. “I’m nice to him, so he likes me better than the rest of you.”

“You’re nice to him as often as you complain about him,” Jake pointed out.

“I complain about everything a lot.” Roxy pulled up an image of two texts, which Rose could tell were both Alternian, though one version was neatly printed, and the other was written by what looked like a blind cat. “Anyways, I talked to some members of Alternia, and they said that the handwriting was all jumbled up and backwards, and it was an old form that’s basically like 14th century english.”

John groaned. “I barely passed my french class, I feel _really_ bad for the translator who has to translate all that.”

“I passed all of my foreign language studies, and I _still_ feel bad for the translator!” Jade replied. “They have to deal with some backwards, jumbled up, ages old Alternian that’s been written in the font of a mad man! That’s enough to drive anyone to their wits end!”

“Perhaps we should train while we wait for the translation!” Jane suggested. “What’s better than getting prepared!”

Groans filled the room, and two people just straight up vanished at the mere mention of training.

“But we just did a whole mission like, last night!” John cried. “I can’t feel my knees! My arms! _Nothing!”_

"We'll just to pick up where Jacob left off then!" Jane said cheerfully, clapping him on the back. “Welcome to the real world, Johnny-o. Jacob might've liked to take it easy on you all when it came to your training, but Julie was _ruthless!_ I became better because of her!"

Roxy rubbed her temples, clearly exhausted by the mention of Julie. “She had us training from sunup to sundown. Sure, she gave us breaks sometimes, but what’s a break when you have an unrelenting war general breathing down your neck for three whole years?!”

Jane nodded vigorously. “I still wish she was my grandmother sometimes!”

“We all do,” Dirk said drily. He motioned for the keyboard, and tapped a few keys. “Anyways, I’ve already got a few ideas for training, meaning we’re working on stamina and speed today. John, you’re with me.”

John cringed visibly when Dirk wasn’t looking. “Yeah, okay, that sounds cool,” he said, slightly strained.

"Other than us, you guys can split off however you'd like," Dirk continued. "I just really want to get a closer look at your aspect on the field, John."

John nodded in vague understanding, still slightly terrified by the prospect of training with Dirk. "Of course. Just.....take it easy on me, okay?"

"No promises." 

* * *

Beta suited up early, and waited for Dirk to finish creating the training protocols for the day and finally come over.

“I can’t believe that they’re making us train,” John whined, pulling on a boot. “I still can’t feel my face from yesterday.”

Jade rolled her eyes, tying her hair into a high ponytail. “Maybe it’s for the best! We probably need to up our act around here, and besides, if it wasn't for Jane, we'd have to deal with _Neytiri._  I’d rather not have another training session scheduled by Neytiri, she’s just too heartless for my tastes.”

John shook his head. “I doubt that. I’ve never met your grandma before, but if Jane wanted her to be her grandma, then that’s a _bad_ thing.”

Dave kicked open the door loudly. “Guys, guess what I just got us.”

Jade pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation. “Dave, there are doorknobs for a _reason.”_

“Oh yeah, just start complaining about the door right away. No ‘hey, thanks Dave for whatever the hell you got us, that was real nice’,” he grumbled. “For your information, I actually opened the door a little _before_ I kicked it open, so you don’t have to worry about fixing it, since you’re so worried about it and all.”

He plopped himself down on the sofa. “Anyways, I managed to convince Dirk and Jane that Beta just _absolutely_ needed a break from training, and what better than a day at the mall. Please, don’t throw roses, just money.”

“I’ll try not to throw myself at you,” Rose said drily.

“I will!” John piped up, raising a hand. “He just got me out of training with Dirk! As much as I like your brother and all, he can be a little….”

“Intense? Extreme? Extra as hell?” Dave offered, picking up the television remote. “Yeah, try _living_ with him for 5 years.” He flipped through the channels, finally landing on the channel airing the telenovella they had gotten hooked on just yesterday.

Rose got up to leave. “Before you suck me into shitty soap operas, I actually have business to tend to.”

“Business? But just got off of training, and now we’re just about to finish _Asesinatos de Pasión!”_ Jade cried, already pulling off her training armor. “And we can’t watch without you, because you’ll throw a fit.”

“Firstly, I don’t throw fits,” Rose replied, rolling her eyes. “Secondly, it’s not going to take that long. I promise I’ll be back before anything scandalous happens.”

Jade sighed, but she left it alone.

Though Rose didn’t mention it to her friends, she had a feeling that there’d be trouble brewing if they weren’t prepared. While Rose didn’t know if being prepared meant bringing a little extra cash just in case or bringing something more extreme, like weapons, she certainly didn’t want to ignore her premonitions. It was a little harder than usual to try and pry open her aspect for information, however, but she attributed it to "post-mission blues". Hopefully, she’ll either get used to it or it’ll go away.

Almost immediately, she found one of the various conference rooms that the mansion harbored. She had a feeling that as long as the Harley’s had a say in the design, there’d always be at least one spare conference room. It wasn’t like they weren’t useful or anything.

Just….numerous.

She tapped on the table rhythmically, and it spit out a black cube. The cube attached to her wrist with a wristband. Rose brought her wrist up to her mouth. “Call Dirk,” she said, loud enough for the cube to hear her.

She dropped in a nearby seat as she waited Dirk to pick up the call, if he managed to hear it through his inventing (Rose wasn’t exactly sure what he created, but she had a vague idea that he made anime robot companions for lonely otakus.)

(Or something like that.)

A holoscreen flickered to life as he picked up. Or at least, he picked up the call as well as he could while welding two large limbs together with a massive blowtorch.

“BEFORE YOU SAY IT, LET ME JUST ASSURE YOU THAT YES, WE’RE TAKING A _SMALL_ BREAK FROM TRAINING,” Dirk yelled over his welding, somewhat annoyed. (Hopefully, that’s what he said. The torch drowned out most of his audio).

“No, it’s not that at all,” Rose said, hopefully loud enough to be heard. “I actually wanted to say that we should be prepared in case the worst happens.”

“WHAT?” Dirk asked, still welding. “I CAN’T HEAR YOU OVER THE BLOWTORCH.”

Rose rolled her eyes. “This is _asinine,”_ she muttered.

“HUH? I STILL CAN’T HEAR YOU.”

Rose cupped her hands, yelling as loud as she could. “I SAID NO, I’M NOT ASKING ABOUT TRAINING. I ACTUALLY HAVE SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO SAY, SO IF YOU COULD STOP THAT’D BE GREAT.”

Dirk nodded, and shut off the torch. “What’s up?”

“I just wanted to say that we should be prepared before we leave, in case the worst happens,” Rose answered, lightly massaging her sore vocal cords.

“Uh, it’s just a trip to the mall, it’s not like we’re going after English.” Dirk paused, and removed the blast-shield away from his face to raise a slow eyebrow. “Unless…?”

“I just have the feeling that something unfavorable will happen,” Rose explained. “I don’t have exact numbers quite yet, but the probabilities are high enough to be worrying.”

Dirk nodded in understanding. “Alright. Have you told the others?”

Rose shook her head. “Nope. I don’t want them to spend their day off worrying about something that might not even happen. I only told you because I wanted to make sure that _somebody_ else knew.”

“Fair enough,” Dirk said, nodding again. He flipped down his blast shield, starting up the blowtorch again. “I’ll grab some extra gear, and if anything, we’ll only feel a little embarrassed that we got worked up over nothing.”

“I’ll take mildly embarrassed over dead any day.”

“I wouldn’t. Peace.”

* * *

Sadly, everyone failed to notice that Jane had muscled her way into the front seat. Rose feared looking back, not really wanting to see the 19 car pile-up they had most definitely caused.

Dave, unaffected by Jane’s erratic driving, was complaining about Dirk bringing an absolutely massive duffel bag.

“You look like some kinda tryhard jock,” he muttered, crossing his arms sullenly. “Or a dude who’s gonna try to sell his mediocre mixtape on the curb. Either way, it’s fucking _insane._ Why’d you even bring it along?”

Dirk shrugged. “If I told you why I wanted to bring the duffel bag, you’d just laugh, and honestly I’ve had enough of your ridicule.”

Dave huffed, and sulked.

Jane arrived at the mall, and more than a few sighs of relief washed over the van.

“It wasn’t that bad!” she said, rolling her eyes.

Roxy flung open the door, stumbling out. “That’s what _you_ think. How’d your dad live through driving lessons?”

“He didn’t,” Jane said gravely, hand over her heart. “Sadly, in the good year 2012, he passed away due to a heart attack after trying to teach me to parallel park.”

Inside, they stayed together for mere moments, everyone splintering off once they saw something interesting. At least, that what Rose assumed, considering Roxy clamped down on Rose’s arm and dragged her down to the food court immediately.

“Rule number one of shopping: Always eat before shopping,” Roxy said, never letting go of her death grip on Rose’s arm.

“Why’s that?” Rose asked, starting to jog in an effort to keep up with Roxy’s powerwalk.

“Capitalism!” Roxy answered, turning around but never stopping. “While you shop, you get hungry because of all the delicious scents that just so happen to be floating by. So, you get way more food than you need, and can barely even finish! You leave the mall with your food, and then you become the scent floating by for some other poor mall goer! It’s a cycle.”

Rose smirked. “You’ve given this a lot of thought, haven’t you?”

Roxy grinned, and spun back forward on her heel. “Actually, my mom is the one who taught me this. She has this whole thing about ‘sticking it to the man’.”

“But wouldn’t it have been cheaper to just eat at the house?” Rose pointed out.

“I’ve been in the mood for Panda Express. We all have to give into the capitalist machine someday.” Roxy halted to a stop, and Rose almost bumped into her. “We’re really going to have to talk about our whole family situation.”

“We could certainly start now,” Rose suggested. “I’ve never actually checked ‘tearful family reunion’ off my bucket list yet, and what’s better than having a complete meltdown in a mall food court?”

“Alright, but let me grab some food first,” Roxy replied. “Orange chicken just really puts me in a mood, yknow?”

* * *

“What was she like?” Rose asked, sipping her drink. “Raina, I mean.”

“I dunno,” Roxy admitted. “It’s kinda hard to describe her. Like, she _definitely_ wasn’t the best, and I had a hard time telling if she even liked me. She wasn’t really around enough for me to tell, and when she was around, she was kinda….aloof.”

Rose sighed. “I suppose it’d be inappropriate for me to say I wish my mother was more aloof.”

Roxy waved it off. “One thing I’m wanna make clear: you don’t have to feel bad about having pretty shitty parents you wish were different. I mean, we’re Lalondes, I’m sure you know how _totally_ shitty our family history is.”

“Don’t forget the Striders," Rose pointed out. "There’s a whole cavern of problems draped in toxic masculinity over there.”

“Oh geez, them too.”

They sat in silence for awhile. Roxy poked at her food a bit, and Rose swirled her water aimlessly in her cup.

“I guess I wished my mother acted more like a mom than my friend,” Rose said finally. “It feels selfish, but is it really bad I wish she yelled at me just once?”

Roxy shook her head. “It’s not. I mean, I wish my mom would tell me to go clean my room or other mom things instead of disappearing all the time. I guess that’s the kinda ironic thing about my powers, y’know? I do what I hate the most.”

Rose nodded in agreement. “I suppose we all become our mothers, despite all our attempts to reverse that.”

Roxy spearheaded a vegetable. “Promise me that if I start to become a cold-hearted lady who doesn’t know how to raise a child besides through leaving cryptic clues, you’ll smack me.”

“Only if you slap me if I become a sloppy drunk who forgets what day it is without her daughter's help, but manages to build an oscillating tricorder in a single night.”

They fell quiet again.

 _“Ugh,_ look at us,” Roxy groaned finally, holding her head in her hands. “A couple of sob-stories, duking it out in the mall food court.”

Rose patted her affectionately. “It could’ve been Walmart.”

“Then we would’ve blended in.” Roxy stabbed her last piece of chicken and shoved it in her mouth, dusting her hands off. “C’mon, let’s get out of here before someone comes over and asks if we need help.”

* * *

They hit a surprising number of stores. Roxy seemed to have a powerful nose for sales, and a few hours later they both had bags that almost overpowered them both.

“Are we done?” Rose asked, slightly out of breath, shifting one of her numerous bags.

Roxy shook her head, determined. “I can still sense one more sale. Just a few more steps.”

Rose sighed, but she didn’t complain much. After all, Roxy’s thriftiness and the Harley’s card combined had gotten her everything she found and wanted and probably more. What harm could one more sale do?

Finally the reached it. The final sale that Roxy and Rose trekked the depths of the mall to find, carrying an impossible number of bags no man should have to carry. The bright yellow sign that depicted the glorious 80% clearance sale.

 

_Meowingtons._

 

Roxy squealed in delight. “My favorite store!”

Rose gave her an odd look. “I’m guessing you like cats.”

“Are you _kidding_ me?! I _love_ cats,” Roxy gushed. She dragged Rose inside, promptly abandoning her in favor of kitten earrings.

Rose decided to browse while she was waiting. She liked cats well enough, but she didn’t have the apparent fascination that Roxy did. Besides, she had more than what she needed of feline paraphernalia.

The store took awhile to get to her, but it was on par with her mother’s fascination with wizards. Mischievously smiling cat clocks ticked softly in her ear. Hang-in-there posters featuring distressed cats littered the walls. Cat-ear headbands lay scattered on shelves. The only thing the shop was missing was actual, live cats.

She decided to look at the selection near the window. There was a nice necklace that Rose liked well enough. If only she wasn't carrying so many bags, because then she might be able to-

_Hello?_

Rose jumped, but smoothed down her composure almost instantly. Looking or being spooked is never an option. If anything, Roxy had just snuck up on her. Turning to Roxy, she asked, “Did you say something?”

Roxy shook her head, putting down the fuzzy sweater she was inspecting. “I don’t think so. Am I mumbling? I kinda do that sometimes.”

“Hmm. I don't think I heard mumbling. Whatever, it doesn't matter anymore.

Roxy nodded in understanding, and returned to her sweater. Rose went back to the necklace, but the voice came back, clear as ever, like whoever was speaking to her was whispering in her ear.

_Rose? Can you hear me?_

This time Rose didn’t ask Roxy if she said anything, because she had wandered off too far away to have had said anything that quietly clear. Either it was her aspect, or she was possessed by some mall-residing ghost. She wasn’t too sure which one was worse.

“Hello?” Rose whispered tentatively. 

_Oh good! I was worried this device wasn’t working. I've already tried a few others but none of them seem to have been as responsive as you._

Rose furrowed an eyebrow slightly. “Device?” So this voice wasn’t her aspect trying to communicate, and it wasn’t a ghost. Well, it could’ve been a ghost, but in her own personal experience, most of the ethereal spirits in the shadow realm don’t exactly know how to work modern technology.

_I’m sorry, but it’s much too difficult to explain, and I have such limited time. You need to leave the mall as soon as possible though._

“Why should I?” Rose asked. “Is there something I should be aware of?”

There was a beat of silence.

_I can’t say much without exposing myself to him._

“Who’s him?”

_I also can’t say. He’ll get angry._

“Are you in immediate danger?” Rose asked, growing worried. “Do you need the police, or would it make things worse?”

_No, I’m perfectly fine, he won’t lay a finger on me. He’ll throw a fit for sure though, and I’d rather you stay alive. Please, just gather your friends and go home. Everything’s already in motion, and if you stay a moment too long you’ll be caught._

“Caught?”

_Yes! Please, the connection won’t last too much longer-_

The voice suddenly stopped. Rose waited a beat for them to continue.

“Are you still there?”

There wasn’t a response, and Rose wasn’t quite sure what to do about it. After all, the person didn’t offer any sort of name that she could follow up with. Maybe it was the mysterious Uranian Umbra? Briefly, Rose checked her phone, but the grey dot next to their name was ever-present, signalling that they were still offline. Besides, Pesterchum hasn’t released the ability to project into other’s minds quite yet (though the team promised they were still working hard on that).

She decided to blame a ghost that wanted to play a practical joke instead.

“Okay, now that I’ve _finally_ found all the sales, I think it’s time to put this junk in the van!” Roxy said, lightly skipping over to Rose despite the amount of things she carried. “You shouldn’t have let me buy all this stuff!”

“I’m sorry, but I was too busy buying my own things to be your shopping conscience," Rose replied, shifting to get a better grip on things. "Next time, we'll have to get a designated conscience."

They walked back to the car. Passing a Starbucks, Rose felt a warning go off in her brain.

 

_Turn around._

 

So she did, just ever so slightly, still walking. She didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary, so she shrugged it off and continues walking. Probably still the ghost, who was beginning to become a very convenient scapegoat.

She passed a mattress store.

 

_Turn around._

 

Rose turned her head again in confusion. This definitely wasn’t a ghost anymore. Could it be her aspect trying to redirect her towards a bed sale or something? Even though she sometimes felt stiff in the morning, it wasn’t like she was looking for a whole new mattress. Besides, she had enough on her hands already.

Yet again, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, but she was pretty certain she saw a familiar looking-man looking directly at her twice.

Roxy tugged at her hand slightly. “You’re slowing me down! Hurry up, my arms are crampin’!”

Rose gave an apologetic grin. “Sorry, just thought I saw something.”

She kept walking, but this time she ignored the warnings. Her aspect, while as clear as a dust storm, normally pointed her in a direction after a while instead of letting her spin in circles like a madman. But now it felt like someone was playing a cruel joke on her, only it wasn’t exactly cruel, moreso annoying like a fly that consistently lands on your sandwich while you’re eating no matter how much you swat at it.

Still, her aspect persisted, until finally it got so loud and noisy and rambunctious that she couldn’t think about doing anything else but to _turn the hell around._

There the man was, still trailing behind her after more than 10 minutes of walking (or, it felt like ten minutes. Time moves oddly when you’re bogged down with countless items in a mall.)

Upon closer inspection, she realized why he looked so familiar. She had seen his face once before, during the invasion of Harley Labs.

 

Shit. She had a tail.

 

Rose jogged to catch up with Roxy. “Y’know, I know a shortcut to get to the car faster,” she said, shuffling her bags.

Roxy raised an eyebrow. “You do? But isn’t this, like, your _first_ time here?”

Rose tapped her head. “Aspect.”

“Ah, gotcha,” Roxy said, understanding. “Lead the way then!”

Of course, Rose didn’t know a shortcut. She didn’t even know her way around the mall. In actuality, she took the lead so she could shake her follower without Roxy catching on, because she would be damned if she let something ruin her day out. Rose lead them into circles too convoluted to describe. Up the elevator, down the escalator, looping through restrooms, and definite backtracking, everything Rose could do to shake Trace.

“This isn’t a shortcut!” Roxy cried, trailing behind Rose. “You _lied_ to me!”

Rose shrugged. “I might’ve gotten lost a few times, but that doesn’t necessarily mean I lied to you.”

Roxy gesture wildly to the map next to them. “We passed by three maps Rose! Three!” she yelled. “We’ve passed by this place twice! What are you tryna do, shake a tail?”

Rose scoffed. “Of course not. I’m genuinely looking for the fastest way out of here.” She put on her best pure and innocent face, hoping that Roxy would believe that Rose certainly did have good intentions, and had merely gotten lost.

 

She didn’t.

 

“Rose, what’s going on?” Roxy asked, raising suspicious eyebrows. “Did you see an ex floating around here or something? Who is it, do I have to beat them up?”

Rose shook her head. “No, I didn’t see an ex of mine anywhere.” Stepping in closer, she whispered “Don't be obvious looking around, but I think the Felt is following us.”

Immediately, Roxy looked up and around in an extremely conspicuous manner. She spotted Trace, and sucked in a strained breath. “Okay, so this is bad.”

Roxy took her hand and loudly announced to “I’ve gotta go to the restroom, like, super bad.” She tugged her towards the bathroom, and into a stall, voiding them both.

“You should probably leave your bags here, just in case we can’t come back,” Roxy said. She set down her bags, and opened a shoebox, setting up the shoes to make it look as if someone was in the stall. “Now our stuff is safe.”

She turned towards Rose. “Okay, so the Felt is here, which is _horrible._ I wanna think that we just so happened to cross paths because this is a _really_ good mall with good sales or whatever, but I don’t think that’s true.”

“Let’s be positive. They could be here because this is a really good mall with good sales, and _also_ want to kill us.”

Roxy snickered. “I’ll go with that, sure.” She took Rose’s hand. “He can’t follow us if I’m invisible. I found that out awhile ago.”

She took Rose’s other hand. “It’s easier to hide you if you keep in contact with me, so don’t like, let go.”

They snuck out the bathroom, and Rose looked around for Trace. However, she couldn’t find him anywhere.

“That’s odd,” she said, still looking but finding nothing. “He’s just gone.”

“I guess he disappeared without a _trace,_ ” Roxy replied, winking at Rose.

“Do not.”

“I couldn’t help myself,” Roxy said, cackling. “I just _felt_ it coming!”

Rose sighed.

They searched the mall looking for the Felt guy. Rose could just barely see her reflection in the shop mirrors, and she still cast a shadow on the ground, but she was invisible. They didn’t spot him until Rose saw him slip into a payphone nook (she didn’t even know those _still_ existed). Rose tugged Roxy gently to let her know she had found him, and they listened in quietly on his conversation.

Trace shuffled his feet, and said that they’ve already gone. Rose didn't know who exactly  _they_ were, but she had the sneaking feeling that he was talking about them.

Silence. The person on the other end was too quiet to hear, but Rose could easily imagine a nefarious fellow sitting in an oversized leather chair, possibly spinning idly while stroking a meticulously groomed white cat.

Trace rolled his eyes. He whispered (though not really) that if one of them can fuckin’ _disappear,_ he’d think you’d understand as to why he can’t fucking find them.

He paused, inserting another coin into the slot. He asked if he should go ahead with the plan anyways, because there’s still some of the other’s running around the mall, so they’d get some of them if they started now.

He listened intently, and then gave a nod. Checking his watch, he said that he’ll mobilize the troops. He hung up and walked away, easily getting lost in the crowd of mall-goers.

Rose released a breath that she had forgotten she was holding. “Do you think-”

Roxy nodded. “Yeah. I think he was talking about us.”

“We need to contact them. You get your group, and I’ll get mine,” Rose said. “Tell them to get their asses down to the food court, we need to talk.”

They pulled out their phones, rapidly texting.

\--tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering ectoBiologist [EB], gardenGnostic [GG] and turntechGodhead [span class"dave">TG] at 1:26!--  
TT: Get down to the food court as fast as your fucking legs can carry you. I don’t care if you have to trample some tiny little old lady on your rampant dash down here, but we have something of utmost importance to discuss, and I doubt that this server is safe enough to tell you.  
TG: but rose  
TG: i just found some kinda fire mixtape  
TG: not as lit as my shit but still  
TG: i bet that if i tried to play this at our mansion the whole place would go up in fucking flames  
TT: Stick it in your pocket and get moving. We can worry about the ramifications of your sick as fuck mixtape later.  
TG: thats fucking illegal rose  
TT: Dave, we don’t have fucking time for this, because as I’ve just said, there’s something of dire fucking importance.  
TT: If you want it so bad, put it in your jacket and get to walking  
GG: you better listen to her dave!! this doesn’t seem to be any kind of laughing matter  
GG: but if i may ask, why the sudden urgency rose??? is there an actual fire that hasnt been accidently caused by daves mixtapes?  
TT: No fire, but I’m not sure how secure this line is, and I wouldn’t want anybody nefarious catching wind of our plans.  
EB: woah, there’s a fire?  
TT: John, you’re fashionably late, but less fashionably off topic. There’s no fire, but in short: the Felt found us.  
TT: So, to reiterate, walk like the motherfucking police are hot on your ass.

Rose reached the foodcourt, and she could see others making their way as well. Roxy started to situate the chairs so that the table could accommodate all eight of them. They circled around a large table. Rose and Roxy explained everything that they saw, and what they think is going to happen.

Dirk ran a hand through his hair, and sighed. “I didn’t think this would happen, but I guess you were right Rose.” He stuck a hand in his bookbag, and pulled out a few earpieces, passing them around.

“This is why you’ve been carrying around those shitty bags and making me look bad?” Dave asked, incredulous. “In the offhand chance that we get _attacked?”_

“Gotta be prepared,” Dirk said matter-of-factly, passing an earpiece to Jane. Dave scoffed, putting it inside of his ear. With a beep, they were synced, and a brief wave of light passed down their bodies.

“What was that?” Dave asked.

“It’s temporary field armor!” Jane answered. “I assume Dirk didn’t bring our armor, so the communicators give us basic protection in case of ambush.”

“Now what?” John said. “If they’re gonna attack us, should our plan be get the hell outta dodge?”

Jane nodded. “I agree. There’s no point in sticking around to wait for certain doom.”

Rose shook her head. “I think they’d notice if we tried to leave,” she pointed out. "They've obviously been tailing us for awhile, who's to say they still aren't?"

“We should stay and fight anyways,” Dirk said. “I’m pretty certain that we could take most of whatever they can throw at us.”

“And the eyewitnesses?” Jane countered. “I’m fairly certain our objective is to try and stay hidden, not possibly reveal ourselves to hundreds of innocents. If anything, they’d get underfoot and make it difficult to deal with the enemy.”

Dirk waved her off. “Nah, they’ll be running towards the exits. In about 2 minutes, they’d be gone and we’d have the mall to ourselves.”

Jane opened her mouth to reply, but streams of water fell from the ceiling, and there were blaring fire alarms.

“Please exit in a calm and orderly fashion,” the PA system announced brightly. “I repeat, please exit in a calm and orderly fashion. Thank you and have a _great day.”_

Rose shielded her eyes from the torrential downpour of water. She didn’t expect this much water to come from the sprinkler systems, and in a minute she was thoroughly drenched. Suspecting her own group, she did a quick head count, and found that two people were missing.

Of course, Jade and Jake came back, soaking wet and grinning widely

John created a dome of air that shielded them from most of the downpour, which also gave them a drying effect. “What’d you guys do?” he asked suspiciously.

Jake shrugged. “Pulled the alarm. Best way of getting civilians out the way, isn’t it? Jade came up with it.”

Jade shoved Jake lightly. _“Please,_ you were the inspiration.”

“But you inspired me to be inspiring!”

“You could’ve warned us _before_ we got absolutely drenched,” Dirk muttered, annoyed.

Jake grinned ruefully. “You were busy arguing. Didn’t want to interrupt!”

Dirk glared at him, zipping open his duffel bag and pulling out the contents.

  
Which were weapons.

  
The table fell silent, watching Dirk pull out weapon after impossible weapon.

“Is this why you tried to bring the duffle bag too,” John asked quietly.

Dirk gave him a _duh_ look. “I can’t fit your hammer, two swords, two huge as fuck rifles, a trident, needles, _and_ two hand guns inside of my _bookbag._ Y’all are lucky I found the collapsibles of your weapons.”  
  
Jane shook her head exasperatedly, but didn’t seem fazed. “The extent of your preparedness is a baffling one!” she said, grabbing the red tube Dirk had put out, and activated it. With a whoosh, it was fully formed. “This’ll have to do.”

Everyone grabbed their own weapons, and Rose wondered how Dirk had managed to store all of them inside of his duffel. Even if it was rather large, it just didn’t seem like it had the capacity to carry 2 handguns, two collapsible rifles of extreme size, swords, and a comically oversized hammer.

“Dirk, you could’ve just asked me to shrink this stuff down,” Jade said. “You didn’t have to carry it around the whole time.”

Dirk shrugged. “I’m gonna be honest, after Dave started nagging me about the book bag, I brought the duffel bag to piss him off.”

Dave glared at him.

“Now, gameplan,” Roxy said, whipping her phone out. “Since people are still running outside, I’m gonna take this as an opportunity to shut off camera’s, delete the footage of Jade and Jake pulling the alarm, and call off the resulting response units.”

Dirk nodded. “Sounds good. Now, I think we should split up into pairs so that we’re not as taken down as easily.”

 _“Or,_ we could stay together,” Jane suggested. “It’d be easier to keep track of everyone, and if somebody would need some assistance, we wouldn’t have to traverse in an entire mall to help.”

Dirk pursed his lips. “Yes, but if we stick together, and something happens on the other side of the mall, there’d be nobody to stop it, which is why we should split up.”

Jane scoffed. “This isn’t Scooby Doo. Splitting us up isn’t going to help us catch some nefarious ne’er-do-well. Besides, we have two people who can get across the mall in a jiffy if need be.”

“How about we split into groups of four?” John prompted, cutting into the debate. “I mean, it’s not as strong as a group of eight, but it’s still pretty formidable. Plus, we wouldn’t be all bunched up so someone couldn’t come in and take us down in one go.”

Dirk and Jane looked at John, contemplating his suggestion.

Finally, Dirk shrugged. “Eh, what the hell. It couldn’t hurt.”

Jane patted John on the back. “Fantastic job on compromise. Using your brain quite suits you.”

John grimaced. “I dunno whether or not to take that as a compliment or an insult.”

They split into groups, Striders and Crockerberts on one side, and Lalondes and Harlenglishes in the other. There was an attempt to further combine the two teams last names even further, but it ended up in an unholy amalgamation of last names worthy of the horrorterrors.

“Stay alive!” Jane said, waving to the departing group. “I do have to keep my eye on Dirk, you know!”

“It was _one_ time I got my head chopped off!” Dirk cried. _“One time!”_

Rose’s group headed toward the back end of the mall, searching for anything. The water was mostly shut off, and she was mostly dry. Certainly, she wouldn’t want to be sopping wet _and_ have to deal with whatever the Felt were planning. The line had to be drawn somewhere.

“Roxy, are you sure you heard what you thought you heard?” Jake asked. “The mall seems fairly empty right now.”

Roxy pursed her lips. “We didn’t stay around too long to get all the specific details, but it was pretty frickin’ clear Trace was talking about us.”

“Rightio, Roxy,” Jake said. “I’ll take your word for it.”

They stalked through the mall, which was eerily silent without people bustling around and music playing. Rose almost expected someone to pop around the corner, but no one ever did, and it just left her with chills.

Finally, they saw a green suit slide around the corner.

Roxy motioned for the group to stay back, and she fell away from sight.

Rose and Jake tailed after silently, and Jade covered their back. Peeking around the corner, she got a brief eyeful of a Felt before a hole appeared in his torso, and he fell to the ground.

Roxy reappeared behind him. “One down, hella to go.”

They found a few more solitary Felt before Dirk checked in.

“What’s your status?” he asked. “I’m assuming you all haven’t found much either?”

“Not really,” Roxy said. “I feel like this is a trap.”

“It probably is,” Dave chimed.

“Rose, what are the numbers?” Jane asked. “If there’s something off about the situation, we’d all like to know.”

Rose hummed in thought. “From what I’ve gathered, there’s approximately an 82 percent chance this is a trap and 7 percent that nothing is actually going to happen. The rest of the variables are too small to be accounted for.”

A brief vision of something black and white flashed in her brain, but it was replaced with a crackle of static. A sharp pain reverberated in her skull when she tried to pull it back up again. Rose wasn’t sure what it was she saw, but she got the brief idea that it wasn’t good, and it _definitely_ had something to do with the mall.  
  
“Let’s re-neg on the 82 percent, now it’s about 96 percent.”

“Whoa, why’d it spike so high?” John asked. “Wait, is there a bomb?”

Rose bit her lip nervously. “Any other day, I’d make fun of you and your bomb-related paranoia, but today I’m not too sure that there _isn’t_ a bomb.”

John groaned. “Aw hell, are you kidding me! Blowing up is like number 8 on ways I want to die!”

Jade rolled her eyes as she pulled off her glasses. “I’m pretty sure being blown up is the least of your worries.” Squinting, she tapped and swiped on the lenses until she found what she was looking for.

“I thought that was only equipped on your helmet,” Rose said, peering over her shoulder.

“Nah. I decided that if I was going to make one pair of special glasses, I might as well make a few more.” With a final flick of her wrist, she frowned at whatever she saw. “Well, that’s not good.”

“What’s not?”

“There’s an area of the mall that’s completely staticky,” Jade replied, wiping her glasses off on her shirt and placing them back on her face. “Cross-referencing it with the blueprints, I’m pretty sure it’s the boiler room! Whatever’s inside of there is using an _insane_ amount of energy!”

Dave groaned. “I’ll check it out,” he volunteered reluctantly. “If I die or whatever, just make sure Snoop Dogg plays at my funeral.”

“I promise,” John said. “But only if you get John Mulaney to perform at mine.”

“It’s a deal.” His line fell silent.

“What now?” John asked. “Should we just wait for something to happen?”

“Pretty much,” Dirk said. “We're pretty sitting ducks at the moment.”

As soon as Dirk finished speaking, a sea of green came flooding in through the food court.

There were multiple copies of two Felt members that Rose had grown to hate with a burning passion. They encroached her position rapidly, more of them coming into view with each passing second. More than a few appeared with a bright purple flash as they time-traveled in.

 

Eggs and Biscuit, the two most notorious members in Rose’s book.

 

Sadly, Rose didn't have time to create the perfect environment to best suit their needs. Instead, she kicked over a table for cover, and tapped into her aspect to start an attack plan. Roxy had leapt over a booth, and occasionally peaked out her head to shoot. Jade teleported to a hidden location, and began shooting as well. 

“There’s so many of them!” Jake cried. He kicked on nearest to him swiftly in the shin, and punched another in the jaw.

“What do you mean there’s so many of them?” Dirk asked in the channel, clearly confused. “And why is it so loud over there?”

“It’s the Felt!” Roxy yelled. “There’s a whole fuckin’ _army_ of them!”

“Oh sweet cherries, where are you guys?” Jane asked. “We’re on our way!”

“Good idea!” Jade said. “Send John over so he can do crowd control, and I’ll go check out what’s going on with Dave, since he still hasn’t reported back.”

“Right!”

The feed cut, and Rose turned more of her attention toward the oncoming Felt. They still poured in, and there didn’t seem to be any foreseeable end to them. Steadily, they progressed forward, as if there wasn’t anything that blocked their way.

Soon, there was a gust of tell-tale wind.

“Calvary’s here!” John yelled. He quickly jumped into the middle of the fray, and created a strong wave of wind that easily cut through the Felt. Jake joined him in the middle, ditching his guns and shooting white-hot beams from his palms, cutting through lines of Felt.

“Gotta love mall air conditioning!” John cackled, clearly enjoying himself. “I barely have to make any wind myself!”

Jane and Dirk came in briefly as well, offering their support. However, they soon split off again to take out the roaming groups of Felt that had snuck in when they weren’t looking.

After what felt like hours, but was probably only 30 minutes, there were a few straggling Felt left. They dispersed, and soon the food court was empty. They regrouped into the middle, and Jake commed over to Jade.

“Jade, did you ever find out what was up with the macguffin in the mall?” he asked. He waited a few moments, then scrunched his face up, tapping his ear-piece experimentally. “Jade? Are you there?”

“What’s wrong?” Roxy asked.

“I dunno!” Jake said, taking the comm out of his ear and inspecting it. “I’m not getting anything from her, not even static!”

“I’ll tell Dirk,” Roxy said. She pressed a finger to her ear and said “Hey man, we’ve got a problem.”

The comm crackled, and Dirk asked slowly “What _kind_ of problem?”

“We’re not getting anything from Jade,” Roxy answered. “We can try Dave, but I think we’d get the same result.”

“Something’s fishy is going on here,” Jane said slowly. “I don’t want to send more people to check out the macguffin, but I do want to make sure that they’re ok. Roxy, can you void yourself and see what it is?”

Roxy grimaced. “Why _me?_ I bet you’re tryna get rid of me for eating the last brownie yesterday.”

“I am,” Jane said drily. “Maybe next time you’ll think about this before you eat the last of anything.”

Roxy grumbled but she rolled her eyes and said _“Fine,_ I’ll go check out the thingy.” She waved goodbye, and fell away from sight.

“I guess it’s just us!” John said to the remaining group. “Dirk, are there any other plans in motion right now?”

“Not really,” Dirk said. “Besides Roxy, Dave and Jade checking out the boiler room, we’re pretty much sitting ducks. Jane and I came across a few roaming groups of Felt, so I guess just keep moving until they report back.”

“Sounds solid!” Jake said.

“I’ll go and run recon from the roof,” John said, already beginning to gather wind up underneath him. “See if I can spot groups of Felt gathering.”

“That _also_ sounds solid!” To Rose, he said cheerfully “Looks like you’re stuck with me!”

“Au contraire, it’s _you_ who is stuck with _me,”_ Rose replied lightly.

Jake grinned cheekily. “We’re both stuck with each other, and there’s nothing more to say on the matter.”

They set off further, occasionally taking down small groups of Felt. Rose had forgotten how much she missed hanging with Jake since he left. Though she wasn’t as close with him as she was with Jade, he was still fun to be around. Quirky, and filled to the brim with euphemisms and phrases that haven’t been in circa since 1954, but fun. Brief memories of escapades and adventures through the forest near Rose's house lead by Jake came to mind.

Rose did wish he had stayed in touch better.

“We should team up more,” Jake said. “Working with you is rather fun!”

“It’s refreshing,” Rose agreed. "This reminds me of the time on Dinosaur Island, with the ever-villainous Flower Pirate."

"I didn't think you'd remember that!" Jake said excitedly. He peered inside of a Hot Topic, and gave an all-clear sign, signalling no one was inside. "Cor, that must've been years ago! Wasn't Jade the Flower Pirate, or was it Bec?"

Rose tapped her chin, thinking. "I believe it was Bec? Only because he had stolen a freshly-plucked bouquet from Jade, and she wasn't quite that good at naming things yet."

Jake nodded in agreement. "She did come up with some of the worse names on the _planet._ Who names a dog Becquerel, after a scientary term? If I was her, I would've gone with something like Coxswain or Magnus Terrier."

"I'm fairly certain bad names run in the family," Rose pointed out, smirking.

Jake scoffed, grinning widely.

There was a crackle of static in the comms, and a voice whispered “Guys? It’s Roxy."

"What's up?" Jane asked. "Did you find out what in the world was going on with Dave and Jade?"

“I did, but there's something even worse," Roxy said. “The thing in the boiler room? It’s a bomb.”

"I KNEW IT!" John cried loudly. "WHY IS THERE ALWAYS A BOMB?"

Jane gasped. “What do you mean a _bomb?”_

“It’s nothing we’ve seen before,” Jade said. “I don’t know how to disarm it, and I can’t make it go away!”

“Jade, you’re alive?” Jake asked, slightly relieved. “Why’d you go dark on us?”

“I’m fine too,” Dave grumbled. “Just saying.”

“I have no idea what happened to our comms,” Jade said. “They just kinda... _died?_ I think the bomb was feeding off the battery, and it took awhile to charge back up again.”

“It’s fine, guys,” Dirk said. “What are we going to about the bomb stitch though?”

“Beats me,” Roxy said. “I don’t even think Alternia’s run into this kinda weapon from the Felt.”

“Who cares about Alternia?” Dave huffed. “We’re here and they aren’t, and unless you guys have a bomb expert on speed dial, we need to find some way to get rid of this thing ASAP.”

“You’re right,” Dirk said. “Jade, I’m gonna find you, and together we’re gonna combine our technical expertise to find a way to disarm it.”

“Okay!” she replied. “Just remember you’re gonna go dark for a while when you come down, so try not to get yourself in too much trouble!”

Jake turned to Rose. “Now what?”

Rose shrugged. “Kick more ass?”

“I like the way you think.”

After an unbeliveable amount of kicking ass that's just simply too awesomely extreme and amazing to write down, team Bomb As Fuck (coined by Roxy) reported back.

“There’s no disarming it,” Dirk said, frustrated. There was a sizzling sound, and a loud _crack!_ along with an _“I told you that would happen!”_ from Dave.

“The technology is so advanced that I’d do better taking my head off than trying to understand what’s going on,” he finished, slightly pained. Rose guessed he was the recipient of the _crack!_ sound.

“If it wasn’t going to kill us, it’d be fascinating!” Jade chirped. “By the way the ammunition is set-up, it’s likely it’ll take out the whole block!”

“Jade, the way you think is weird and frankly, terrifying,” John grumbled. “So what’s the plan now?”

“I’ll let Jane take point on this,” Dirk said. “I’m gonna keep working on the bomb.”

“I was planning on taking point anyways, but I’m glad you’ve decided to concede your power,” Jane said drily. “l think our best bet right now is retreat. If the bomb were to detonate, we’d want to limit the damage we receive.”

“Good idea,” Dirk said. “We’ve got a limited amount of energy, and a retreat would be in our best option. Plus, there’s a woodsy area back there, which would give us an advantage in stealth. Try to leave quietly, so that the Felt don’t know we’re missing yet and set off the bomb early.”

“Who exactly is on point again?” Jane asked irritably. “If I’m not mistaken, I’m pretty sure that you _just now_ decided to focus on other things you deemed more pertinent.” Sighing, she said “It doesn’t matter, I guess. Do whatever he says, because _apparently_ he’s back in charge again five seconds after abnegating his throne.”

Jake gave Rose a look. “They’re always like this on missions. They respect each other a lot, but they also like fighting.”

There was more sparking sounds, and Dave groaned loudly. ”Why am I still down here again?”

“In case we don’t make disarm the bomb in time,” Jade said. “I’m still kinda worn out from our mission yesterday, and I don’t think I’ll be able to teleport out fast enough.”

“So I’m an Uber for y’all.”

“A time traveling one, yes.”

 

Jake and Rose snuck through the rest of the mall, only occasionally taking down small groups of Felt to keep up appearances. Quickly, they made it out into the backlot of the mall, and retreated near the edge of the forest. Roxy were already there, Rose spotting her by the slight glint of her rifle, as she were stationed in the trees. Most likely, she were up there in case there was an unexpected visitor. Smart.

Dave and John came out next, followed by Dirk and Jane.

“Nice job getting out here so quick,” Jane said. “Is there anybody who’s been hurt?”

Jake raised his hand slightly, limping over to Jane. Rose again felt the guilt about not being able to shield Jake from the Felt minion.

“Now that we’re out here, we need another plan,” Dirk said, motioning for everyone to get closer.

Roxy jumped down from her perch. “Aw Dirk, you’re sucking out the fun already. Give us a moment before we gotta make another plan, dude.”

Dirk opened his mouth to reply, but there was a small _pop_ in Rose’s ears.

If she had more time to react, she would’ve theorized as to why she heard what she heard. Maybe it was her ears, trying to resettle after being thrown out of balance. It could’ve been Roxy, chewing gum that she probably pilfered from some unsuspecting store. Or, it was the pop of someone’s joint. It might’ve even been Jane, who sometimes makes popping noises with her mouth when she was bored.

Of course, Rose didn’t have time to theorize, as there was a giant shockwave that knocked her firmly on her ass. A blindingly green light followed immediately, and when Rose opened her eyes, the mall was gone.

“Well, fuck.”

Rose wasn’t even sure who said that, but she wholeheartedly agreed. Well, fuck indeed.

 _“MY SHOES!”_ Roxy cried, falling to her knees. _“I GOT THEM HALF OFF!”_

Jade squinted, looking at something in the distance where the mall once stood. “Is that what I think it is?” She disappeared without explaining further, and reappeared on the site of what used to be the mall.

“Guys, you gotta fucking see this!” she breathed into the comms, almost giddy.

Dave groaned, reluctantly starting into a half-jog. “I hate when she does that.”

* * *

Dirk leaned in dangerously close to whatever it was Jade was so excited about.

The sphere crackled with energy, swirls of green spiraling around lazily inside. It hovered above ground, about as high as Rose’s chest, but it didn’t really stay in one place. It was rather small, about as big as a basketball.

“What is it?” Dirk asked. His hands twitched at his sides, like he wanted to take it apart and inspect it.

“It’s a Green Sun!” Jade explained excitedly. “The concept of a Green Sun is that an object can be shrunk down, and during that process the energy from the atoms that were shrunk are suddenly shot out! The ‘bomb’ we found wasn’t actually a bomb, but a containment vessel. This Green Sun is the real bomb!”

Dirk shot straight up and away, and everybody (excluding Jade) took a step backwards.

“Why are you so excited about this?” Dave asked exasperatedly. “This thing can, and will very most likely kill us.”

Jade waved him off. “Psh, it won’t detonate in at least a couple thousand years. And it won’t really explode, just replace the mall! Unless the Felt managed to figure out how to dissect and ignite the atoms contained inside, but we won’t worry about that for now.”

Jake nodded weakly. “That’s good, I guess?”

Jade nodded. “Yep! All we have to do is wait for it to fade from reality into some kind of pocket dimension.”

“Ok, that’s enough science for today,” John said, clutching his head in exhaustion. “I’m like all science’d out. Tell me about this later.”

Jade rolled her eyes. “Only the weak get too much science.”

Somehow, the van was far away enough to not have been caught up in the blast when the mall disappeared. Rose was glad for this, because she didn’t know how to hotwire a car (yet), and she didn’t want to know if anyone else did either. They piled in the van, and a half an hour later, Roxy pulled up to the Beta’s log cabin-mansion. Inside, Dirk locked the door, and turned to face the group.

“So, safety measures,” he said, clapping his hands together. He went to the a holo-screen in the wall, and tapped a few keys. After he had tapped the keys in, the windows and doors were shuttered with steel. There was also a chime, and Neytiri’s voice said “Invisibility bubble activated.”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Dave said, waving his hands around exasperatedly. “Are you _locking_ us in?”

Dirk shrugged. “Not _exactly?_ It’s more like locking people _out.”_

“While also locking us in.”

Dirk huffed. “It’s a safety measure, Dave, I’m going to be doing the same at our base.”

“This is like, _way_ overkill,” Roxy said. "They can take care of themselves, y'know."

“That _sun_ was overkill,” Dirk countered. “We were pretty thoroughly beaten and retreated, and then they pulled out this entire fucking bomb out of their asses.”

“Roxy’s right,” Jane chimed in. “I know you care about the safety of everybody, but locking everyone in has to be consensual.”

Dirk looked between the both of them, rubbing his chin. Then, he sighed, and lifted his hand reluctantly to dismiss security protocols.

“Fine, you win,” he said. “But they have to report every hour or so, and I’m keeping up the invisibility bubble. I don’t wanna walk in one day and y’all dead.”

Jane rolled her eyes. “They’ll check in, and do all the other safety measures there are to be had. I swear Dirk, you’re _such_ a mother hen.”

“Jane, please don’t ever call me a mother hen. It ruins my brand.”

Jane smirked, and she shoved the Alpha team out on the door before Dirk tried to lock the them in a second time.

“Should we alert the Harley’s about what the fuck went down today?” John asked. “I mean, I don’t think they even know we left the base.”

Dave waved him off. “Nah, the news will cover it.”

“But I don’t want them to worry about us!” Jade said. “I’ll just give them a quick update, nothing special.”

She grabbed a nearby holocron, and tapped a few buttons. A hologram of Jacob emerged flickered immediately.

“Are you all alright?” he asked, nervously fiddling with his moustache. “I was just about to check in after I ran media interference, because apparently _something_ happened down in California, and I'm sure that  _something_ had to do with you all.”

Jade nodded, setting the holocron down on a nearby table so he could see everyone. “Yes, we had something to do with that  _something_ , and we're all pretty much fine. Oh, and I meant to tell you something! We found a sun!”

“Well dear, there’s a very large one burning in the sky was we speak.” He chuckled at his joke.

Jade rolled her eyes. “I’m not talking about _the_ sun, but a _Green_ Sun!”

Jacob choked, all light gone from his eyes. “A _what_ now?”

“Yeah, apparently it’s some containment vessel?” John said. “I’m not that sure, I kinda stopped listening after Jade started talking about pocket dimensions and dissecting atoms and all that.”

“No, I’m fully aware of what a Green Sun is, but I didn’t think that there would be such a coincidence in such a short amount of time.” Jacob rubbed his forehead tiredly. “As you’re all aware, we’ve started working on translating the plans, and while we haven’t found much, we did discover that it’s an ages old project called the Tumor.”

John slumped down in his chair, groaning loudly.  _“Ugh,_ not _more_ science. My brain’s physically cannot handle it right now.”

“I’ll give you the short version-”

“No, nope, nada, no thanks.”

Rose rolled her eyes, and patted the still-groaning John on the arm. “How about you give us an extremely abridged version. Short isn’t always short when it comes from you.”

Jacob sighed, but he complied. “Essentially, the Tumor was created by a scientist who has since been wiped from our records. He created it as a way of micro-storage, but then sought out a way of weaponizing and selling it. Harley Labs has a zero-tolerance policy for selling unauthorized weapons, and fired him immediately.”

John winced in slight irritation. “That was barely acceptable for short, but I’ll take it.”

“So what does this mean for us?” Dave asked. “Is this scientist dude still alive? Does he hate us like the Felt does?”

Jacob shrugged, giving Dave an I-don’t-know look. “To be completely honest, we’re not entirely sure. We typically keep track of any scientist we fire, considering most of them are high risk for becoming super villains, but he’s managed to fall completely off the grid.”

Dave rubbed his face exasperatedly. “That’s so _great._ Hopefully, this whole tumor project doesn’t mean that this guy is super _evil_ or whatever, because it's not like it's going to come back around to bite us in the ass.”

“Hopefully, that isn’t the case, but I doubt it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> boy i sure do hope that one scientist person isn't evil and whatnot! HAHA I REALLY SURE DO HOPE SO FOR ALL THESE KIDS SAKES.
> 
> dirk and jane being little shits towards each other is also my lifeblood, did you know? 
> 
> also art! decided to go for it, because why not? i'll post an unblurred pick on catsocks later today!  
> edit: it's been posted! thanks to my amazing and talented friend @whoneedsalifeineedalife on tumblr for terezi's amazing shirt!
> 
> oof this chapter is gonna be...a little rough for a bit. sorry bout that!

**Author's Note:**

> this is the fic i've ben working on all summer! (ok maybe more like half the summer) but still! it took awhile but here it is! enjoy!!
> 
> (bug me on tumblr @catsocks22!!!)


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